Captive and Captivated
by Playing Scrabble with Orcs
Summary: A slightly AU fanfic. Hikaru, Umi and Fuu are abducted from Tokyo Tower during a field trip and brought to another world. But, what if they had been stolen and brought to Cephiro, not as saviors of the world, but as slaves?
1. Chapter 1

**Summary**: Three young girls are spirited away from their home world into the land of Cephiro. Canon tells us that they're summoned as saviors of that world. But what if they'd been brought for a different reason? What if Shidou Hikaru, Ryuuzaki Umi and Hououji Fuu had been brought, not as Magic Knights and saviors of Cephiro, but as slaves? Cephiro is a land of nobility with a dark side; a pleasure slave system. Read and enjoy this short AU fic! Rated Mature for a reason… steamy sex scenes to come.

**CAPTIVE AND CAPTIVATED**

**Chapter One**

The Tokyo Tower school field trip had turned out to be just as boring as everyone had anticipated. The young people milling about with their respective classes moaned and whined about being bused there, feeling as if they were being treated like little children for being brought to such a place.

Three girls standing with their classmates had little idea of what awaited them in that high tower. It wouldn't be a normal day; that was for sure; it would be a drastic, life-changing field trip. Shidou Hikaru, in her red and black uniform, gazed out of the windows in awe while her friends looked on with sour faces. Ryuuzaki Umi strolled around boredly, looking every bit as haughty and beautiful as she was. In the corner standing at a concession stand was Hououji Fuu. She observed the pre-packaged rice cakes on display and remained calm and quiet, as was her custom, while her classmates gossiped and snickered around her.

The flash of light caused a raucous of screaming. All were blinded and threw their arms over their eyes. "What is it?" they cried. "What's happening!"

The three aforementioned girls, however, did not feel blinded by the overpowering light. They gazed directly into it, rooted to the spot with terror.

"Girls from another world," a sweet, melodious voice sung over the din of shrieking. "Come with us to Cephiro. It is your destiny."

Umi's hands flew to her face as she screamed. Hikaru cowered in fear, and Fuu clasped her hand over her heart. Before they knew it, everything around them vanished and all sounds of the tower were suddenly muted. There was no more floor. They were falling!

They shrieked as they rocketed towards the earth below at an alarming rate. They were so high in the sky; miles high! They would die, surely! And how did they get so high anyway? What had happened to the city? What where these rolling green hills and frosted mountains far, far below?

Suddenly, they were plucked from the air by strong arms, shrieking and crying as they were tossed over the shoulders of large, armored men on flying beasts. Umi pounded on the back of the soldier who held her. "Let me go this instant!" she snarled. "Get your hands off of me!"

"Are you so sure you want me to let you go?" the soldier gibed, pointing to the ground miles below them. Umi began to whimper and clung miserably to his cold, metal armor.

"Hey!" Hikaru was shouting over the roar of the wind around them. "Hey, who _are_ you? What _is_ this place? And watch where you put your hands!" She swatted at the soldier who had her curled into the crook of his arm.

"Please don't let me fall, oh please don't let me fall," Fuu chanted miserably. She'd been slung over the saddle of the horse-like flying beast of her captor. He forced her down against the leather without a word.

"Where are you taking us?" Umi demanded. She jerked her head back and attempted to bite her assailant. "Who are you, anyway? I swear, when we get down there, I'll kick your ass!"

"Shut up, girl!" the soldier shouted. "You'll get more than what's coming to you when we get down there! Trust me; this little adventure up in the clouds will seem like a dream to what awaits you at the castle!"

"Castle!" she snapped. "Are you crazy? What are you even talking about! And don't tell me to shut up, you jerk!"

With a growl of irritation, the soldier gave Umi a swift knock to the back of the head. She gasped in pain and fell limp against his shoulder. Her protests quieted, they flew on through the morning mists of whatever strange land they were in.

As Fuu's eyes were sealed shut with tears, Hikaru was the only one who could really see what was going on around them. Clouds zipped by, but down below, far on the horizon, she could see a tall glittering something. A building, perhaps? It was the only structure she could see at the moment. Maybe those were farmer's fields littering the landscape below. And was that a... floating mountain?

She squirmed in her captive's embrace. "Who are you guys? Come on, what's going on here?"

"Silence," said the soldier, "Or you, too, will suffer the same fate as your friend." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the unconscious Umi.

"She's not my friend; I've never even met her! What happened? Weren't we just in Tokyo Tower? Oh geez, this has got to be some horrible dream, some awful nightmare..."

"Since you won't be allowed speech when we arrive at the castle," the solider said in a lazy drawl, "I suppose I'll let you ask your questions. But be respectful, or I'll slap that round little bottom of yours." Hikaru gasped in outrage, and the soldier continued. "This is the great land of Cephiro. That, below us, is the Castle Cephiro, home of the King, Queen, Prince, and respective court. The Queen summoned you here with her magic, and now you're our prisoner."

"Prisoner!" she cried. "What!"

With the reins of his flying beast in his hand, the soldier took a moment to give her body a thoroughly distasteful scan with his dark eyes. "A fine catch such as yourself will more than likely be a servant to the royalty themselves. Yes, I think so... pretty face like yours..."

Hikaru was growing frantic. "H-hey pal, I'm nobody's servant. Come on, this is a joke, right? No, no, it's just a dream, just some crazy dream." She pressed her hands to her cheeks and repeated that frantic mantra to herself in a shrill whisper.

All of a sudden, the ground seemed to come at them all too quickly, and Hikaru shrieked, thinking that they would crash and be liquefied against the green earth. When no impact came, she opened her eyes and felt the flying beasts' hooves touch the ground. The other two soldiers with their captive girls touched down behind them, and the horse-beasts tossed their shining black manes and whinnied softly.

Before them loomed the enormous, glittering spires of the castle Cephiro. It was radiant in the morning sun, with light glinting off of its smooth, polished surface. It seemed to be made of glass, or perhaps crystal.

"No," Fuu moaned. "Don't take us there..."

Hikaru craned he neck to see the blonde-haired girl over her captor's shoulder. "It's okay!" she said. "Just be brave! We can figure a way out of this!" But the blonde girl only hid her red face in her flying beasts' saddle and trembled. Hikaru looked at the third solider who brought up the rear. The tall, thin girl was hanging over his shoulder like a limp doll. Her eyes were closed; she was still unconscious.

"Captain!" called the guards. They steered their beasts over the crest of the hill towards the castle gates. A small group of soldiers stood there, all fully dressed in dark, metal armor and holding lengths of rope. The man at the head of the group frightened Hikaru. He was tall and broad, with golden hair tied in a ponytail over his shoulder. His expression was hard as stone.

The soldiers dismounted, slinging their prizes over their backs. "Captain," said Umi's captor, "Fine catches from the other world. Very lucky of us to have been able to catch three today," he said conversationally.

The blond man nodded slowly and moved close to examine the three young girls. Fuu held fast to the soldier's shoulder plates and peered around at him. The Captain grabbed her chin. He turned her head this way and that, ran a gloved hand through her fine, blonde locks and felt along her waist and hips. He squeezed her buttocks, slid a casual hand beneath her skirt and smiled. "Yes, they're lovely," he said.

Fuu shook her head violently. "Keep away from me! What is this place?"

Hikaru flamed quick anger. "Don't touch her!" she cried. Before she had time to protest further, the Captain began his observation of her, forcing her head up and studying her eyes. She jerked her chin away and said, "Stay away!"

"What's wrong with that one?" he asked about the blue-haired girl, ignoring Hikaru's impudence.

The solider holding Umi seemed to color a bit. "Well, Captain, she thrashed about wildly and tried to escape, so I had to sedate her..."

The Captain laid his hand on Umi's head, feeling the length of her fine hair. "You've struck her," he said coldly. "That will leave a bruise. If the Prince discovers this, he'll be very displeased." He gave his soldier a very harsh look and the poor boy paled.

"F-forgive me, Captain Lafarga..."

As if she had felt the touch of his hand in her slumber, Umi's eyes cracked open. She moaned. "Hey, what—"

"Be silent!" her captor shouted at her again.

She began to stir in his arms, blinking blearily at the surrounding landscape. "What's going on… hey, let go of me…"

"Be quiet, or he'll hit you again!" Hikaru called.

"You will _all_ be silent," Captain Lafarga said, "Or we shall be forced to silence you."

Umi was coming to her senses. She began to kick feebly at the man who held her. "Let me go! What is this? Let me go this instant! Put me down, you letch! Ah! Don't touch me!"

"Gag that one," the Captain ordered. Umi screamed and thrashed about when two more soldiers grabbed hold of her. They forcibly tied her hands behind her back, bound her legs and shoved a leather bit in her mouth, anchoring it behind her head. Now enraged, Umi squirmed and tossed her head, shrieking from behind the coarse bit.

The Captain turned on the two other captive girls with a stern look. "I'll do the same to the two of you if you don't hold your tongues."

Fuu merely trembled against her soldier's chest, never taking her eyes off Umi's form. Hikaru swallowed the lump of rage and despair that had formed in her throat and did her best to remain calm. She definitely didn't want to be bound and gagged like some animal.

"Take them to the Slave Hall," ordered Lafarga. "Prepare them to be brought before the King and Queen. They're waiting."

The troops nodded and the three girls found themselves being ushered over the threshold of the gleaming castle. The large, ornate doors were dark and forbidding. _Slave Hall?_ they all thought. _What in Heaven's name are they going to do to us?_

The halls of the Castle Cephiro were expansive. They were brightly lit with ornate candelabras and decorative mirrors. The carpet beneath their feet was thick and lush. Or, they looked that way, anyway; none of the girls were permitted to walk. They passed doorway after doorway, leading to rooms occupied by finely dressed people all milling about and talking in low tones. Hikaru glanced into one room and, to her horror, she saw a small group of women and even a few young men, all naked and cast in chains.

Umi continued to kick and thrash, though when one of the soldiers produced a leather whip and cracked it threateningly at her, she quieted and shivered over her captor's shoulder. It was a humiliating position for her; thrown over that armored soldier like some prize game, with her buttocks in the air and her short school skirt showing an impressive view of her undergarments. The soldiers walking behind her were laughing and winking at her, and she gave them the filthiest of glares. She gave the soldier who held her one last sharp kick and was silent.

Fuu, on the other hand, continued to hide her face against the soldier's chest. She was terrified and bewildered, thinking that they _had_ to be in some sort of dream, that there were no castles or armored soldiers anymore and that it was impossible to be spirited away to alternate universes. That kind of thing didn't happen, not in the real world. Behind her eyelids, she saw visions of the Tower; saw the bright flash of light and the teenagers screaming around her. _It isn't real,_ she thought miserably. _It can't be real. There's no such thing as other worlds. This is fantasy… not real…_

But the thick, heavy arm of her captor squeezing her body against his felt _very_ real. The smells of perfumed incense lingering in the castle's halls was also quite real. The voices she heard, their footsteps echoing off the walls, the pounding of her heart… all were real and wouldn't go away no matter how tightly she shut her eyes and told herself that it wasn't.

Hikaru was beyond such delusion. Though she was shocked and dismayed at their situation, she'd made peace with the fact that obviously this _was_ real and that she wasn't sick or crazy or on drugs and therefore _not_ imagining the things that were happening around her. Now, all she thought of was blind terror, of heavily armed men and women in chains and the words _Slave Hall._

_We'll be prepared for the King and Queen,_ she wondered. _Prepared for what?_

Their troop passed a small group in the halls. There was a man and a woman, both dressed in lavish finery, holding a length of silk rope that was attached around the neck of a pretty young girl in a sheer white gown. Hikaru gasped aloud, causing her captor to slap her bottom.

"Keep your eyes down," he commanded. "You don't dare look into the eyes of any of the lords or ladies." He turned around to look at the other two captives. "The same goes for both of you! Keep your bloody eyes down! You are slaves now! You will show proper respect to all who pass you!"

Fuu didn't need to be told twice. Her eyes were shut, anyway. Umi tossed her head, her long blue hair flying, and continued to give the people around her icy glares. The soldiers behind her didn't seem to mind; indeed, they looked rather amused.

"She'll be perfect for the Prince," said one such soldier. He nudged his companion and grinned. "He likes them to have a little fire to them."

"Prince," Umi struggled to say behind her leather gag. "Prince my ass!" Someone behind her gave her a sharp lick with a thin rod and she cried out.

"There's plenty more where that came from if you don't shut your infernal trap!" said her captor.

Soon, the troop entered an enormous room with sloped ceilings. All around were young men and women. Not one of the slaves in this room was clothed; the sight made all three girls gasp in fright. There was a long line of wash basins on one side of the room, and each tub had a naked slave standing upright in it being bathed by a Page. Some were being whipped, others were being fed and still others were slumbering on soft mats.

Suddenly, a young man dressed in the robes of a Page appeared next to them. He looked at Hikaru and said, "I think it would please the King and Queen to unbind her lovely red hair. Take it down, and I shall comb it later."

Her band was torn from her braid and her thick hair tumbled over her shoulders in waves. She trembled with fury but forced herself to remain silent. Anything but a gag, anything but a whip…

Captain Lafarga appeared at the entrance of the room. He looked on the trio of newly captured girls and said, "Strip them down and wash them. If they struggle, bind them up."

Umi screamed. Hikaru and Fuu both went limp in the arms of their captors. They, too, began to cry in despair as their clothes were torn roughly off of them and they were hauled into vats of warm, soapy water.

Fuu screamed and cried and tried desperately to hide her nakedness with her hands. The Page who washed her forced her hands to her sides and ordered her to be still, or she'd be whipped like the other impudent slaves. She hung her head, letting her hair shield her burning cheeks, and the Page commenced to bath her with a coarse sponge.

Umi continued her vicious struggling, kicking and squirming in the hands of the Pages so that they couldn't quite get a good grip on her. Eventually, they tore off her clothes and tossed her bodily into the water.

Hikaru was suddenly glad that they'd unbound her hair; it hid her naked breasts from view. The Page who washed her observed her slender form and seemed to nod approvingly. "You're small and thin," he said, "But you have a good enough shape to you. And such lovely red hair and ruby eyes… yes, you're a prize, indeed."

"I'm nobody's prize!" she said nastily.

"Hold your tongue," he said, "Or I shall be forced to order you bound and gagged, like your friend."

"She's _not my friend,_" Hikaru corrected for the second time. "I've never met either of those girls. But I'll surely do whatever I can to help them out of this awful place, you can bet on that!"

The Page gave her a stern look and, when she glanced over her shoulder at Umi's bound and writhing form, she was quiet. The Page scrubbed her, though he wasn't as rough as she expected him to be. He ordered her to stand with her legs apart and her arms out so that he could wash her more thoroughly. When his hands passed beneath the small nest of red hair between her legs, she shuddered in disgust.

Once they were washed, the three girls were hauled out of the tubs and dried. Their hair was combed and they were dressed in thin, white gowns that were all too revealing of their hips and young bosoms. To their dismay, their wrists were bound in a length of fine cord and they were forced to march out of the room and through the large, ornate halls of the palace.

Hikaru looked around and exchanged a worried glance with Umi. She realized it was the first time that they had actually locked eyes. Umi still looked livid, with her cheeks flushed an angry red and her breath coming in short gasps. She gave Hikaru a curt nod; it said, _Get ready._

Fuu was carefully observing her surroundings. Though she seemed uncomfortable in her form-fitting gown, she was making sure to fully catalogue everything she saw so as to better understand it later when she would have a moment to think. She raked the walls with her eyes, the carpets, the people passing by, the back of the Page's head… When other's walked past them, she cast her eyes down, but as soon as they lost interest in her, she studied them closely. Her lips were pursed thoughtfully and her eyes were narrowed.

The throne room was by far the largest room they'd _ever_ seen. It seemed to stretch forwards and upwards into infinity, with enormous, sparkling chandeliers and dancing points of light flitting about on the ceiling. Umi realized with shock that these points were _fairies._ A few people milled about lazily. Around the corners of the rooms, on their hands and knees, were even more slaves. Fuu grimaced as she saw one of them being fondled and caressed casually by passersby.

Hikaru opened her mouth to speak. "Why are—?" Before she could finish, she was thrown forward on her hands and knees and a thin lash was taken to her calves. She shrieked and squirmed away from the switch, but a soldier appeared and held her down.

"If you utter a single word before the King and Queen, I'll have you stripped and chained to the wall as punishment!"

Hikaru gasped in outrage.

"That won't be necessary," said a cool voice from behind them. All three girls turned to look but their heads were forced down to the carpet. Umi growled behind her leather bit and elbowed the Page who forced her down onto her knees. He ignored her.

Two shoed feet were circling around the group. They watched them move in front of them but could do nothing else with those strong hands holding them down by their necks. The feet were clad in impeccable white boots inlaid with gold and small jewels. Obviously, this person was of some importance.

"My Prince," said one of the Pages, "Captives from the other world. We've brought them for your approval."

"Mine and that of my sister," the Prince replied lazily. "_King_ Zagato will have little interest in them. He has eyes only for his Queen."

Fuu picked up the hint of malevolence in the Prince's voice and frowned. Dissension within the very castle?

The Page bowed respectfully. "Of course, Prince Ferio. You shall do with these girls as you wish. If you don't mind my saying it, the soldiers were all of the opinion that the blue-haired one would be most to your liking. She's quite fiery."

Prince Ferio strolled around and tucked the toe of his boot beneath Umi's chin, forcing her to look up. She'd begun to cry while she'd been there, and she glared poisonously up at him through slitted, watery eyes.

"Well, would you look at that? She's very nearly snarling behind that bit of hers. She's been giving you some trouble, then?"

"Yes, Highness. They had her bound and gagged for the duration of the trip."

"How amusing. You may ungag her. I'd like to hear her speak."

The Page seemed to hesitate. "Highness, she was quite forceful…"

The Prince chuckled and kept Umi's chin lifted with his boot. "I'll ungag you, but if you start to annoy me with your shouting, I'll have you thrashed and hung by your ankles in the Slave Hall for a day and a night. Do you understand?"

Umi paled. When the Page unwound the leather bit from behind her head she began to shake. As much as she wanted to rage at this man, she couldn't bear the thought of being so humiliated… She spit out the bit and repressed an angry retort.

"What is your name, girl?" asked the Prince.

"Umi."

"Hm. An odd name." She gave him a nasty look and he laughed. "Well, you _are_ quite lovely. What say you to being my pet, Ryuuzaki Umi?"

"I'd tell you to shove it," she spat.

"Would you?" The Prince laughed loudly.

The Page, however, was infuriated. "You will show proper respect to the Prince of Cephiro, slave! Bite that impudent tongue of yours!"

She tossed her hair haughtily. "I don't care _what_ you do to me. You can all just drop dead as far as I'm concerned, and I'll surely _never_ be slave to this brat Prince!"

She was yanked to her feet by the wrist and given over to another Page. "Whip her soundly for the enjoyment of the King and Queen!" She began to struggle and shout.

Ferio shook his head. "Brat, she says." He seemed to not care much that his toy had been taken away. Instead, he inspected the two other girls. He took Hikaru's chin in his hand and said, "How about you, small one? What's your name?"

"Hikaru."

"You have a lovely little heart-shaped face, Hikaru. And such lustrous hair. You're quite lovely, do you know that?" Hikaru only blushed and said nothing. "Well, I think you'd be a good prize for one of our lords. Or maybe even my brother. When he arrives, I'll let him have a look at you."

Hikaru averted her eyes. She wouldn't be anyone's prize for long; she'd make sure of it!

"Well _hello,_" Prince Ferio was saying to her right. She twisted her head around and saw him touching the face of the blonde girl next to her. "A pretty little blonde. What's _your_ name, my lovely little blonde?"

"F-fuu…"

"Fuu." He savored the name, smiling into her blushing face. "I may keep you for myself, Fuu. What say you to being the love slave of the Prince of Cephiro?" Fuu squeezed her eyes shut and whimpered in reply.

Ferio cracked a sly smile. "You'll learn to enjoy it." He pulled away from the group and yawned into a gloved hand. "What do you think, Sister?"

Hikaru and Fuu both jumped. They realized that, in the shadows of the dais, sat a dark figure. They could make out an ornate crown sitting atop her head and a very long mane of hair. The figure stood after a time. The 'Sister' walked slowly into the light of the candelabras and all three girls froze. Was this 'Sister' the Queen? Surely she must be. She was very beautiful, with eyes like deep water. She smiled serenely at them all and stood behind her brother.

"They're lovely, Ferio," she said in a soft, melodious voice. "These are the three summoned just this morning?"

"Yes, my Queen," answered one of the Pages.

She bent down low before the three girls. Her soft face was almost soothing to their fraying nerves, and when she each of their faces in her hands one by one to examine them, they almost smiled back at her. Gently, she smoothed their shoulders and backs, feeling them and sizing them up. She took an especially long time with Hikaru, who she seemed to like the best. "Oh, lovely one," she cooed, "Such a beautiful form for one so young." Hikaru only nodded slightly and began to color when the Queen smiled at her. "You may address me, if you wish."

But what could she say? Hikaru swallowed the lump in her throat. She would be beaten. Surely she would be bound and gagged just like Umi… "Yes, my Queen," she managed to stammer. The woman's kind face was so warm and soothing to her. Hikaru almost found herself falling at the woman's feet. Kindness in the midst of harsh scolding… the Queen was her savior.

"Queen Emeraude," said the Page, "This small one is an ideal choice for a slave. She has a small bit of spunk to her but is pliant. I think she'd suit you well."

Emeraude shook her head and stood. "I have no need for more slaves. Though, I may call on each of these girls as times for my amusement." She looked around and noticed the reddened legs of the blue-haired girl. "Ah, have you been an impudent little thing?"

All the bitter gall Umi had spat into the faces of those who'd approached her was oddly absent. She couldn't imagine being rude to so kind and beautiful a woman. "Queen Emeraude, why have we been brought here-?"

The Prince nodded to the nearby soldiers who yanked Umi upwards by the ankle and allowed her to dangle like that before the Queen and her brother. She began to shriek. "Let me down!"

"You'll answer when the Queen tells you to answer," Prince Ferio sighed. "It was a rhetorical question." A thin rod was taken to her backside again, leaving red welts and long stripes across her ivory skin. Umi cried loudly and the Queen only smiled.

"Such spirit they have in the other world," she said.

"Agreed, Sister."

"And your step-brother? Where is he?" she asked.

"Oh, Lantis should be here shortly. You know he's not really one for fuss and pomp such as this."

Emeraude crossed her shapely arms over her chest. "It is true. But he is a very devoted Prince to his country and is deserving of finery such as this." She cast an approving eye on Hikaru again. "I shall give one of them to him. Not that loud one; she'll not be to his taste. One of these two will be perfect."

"I myself am having trouble deciding between two of them," replied Ferio. He studied Fuu and Umi closely. "The impudent one _is_ quite beautiful. I'm sure I could have plenty of fun with her if she were gagged. But this one is so lovely, too. I do love yellow hair…"

"Ah, my King," the Queen purred. A formidable man stepped onto the dais, dressed heavily in dark, flowing robes and crowned with an ornate, black headdress. He glowered at all of them, making the three young girls tremble in fear.

"Zagato," Ferio nodded. "The captives from the other world. Lovely, aren't they?"

The King only nodded vaguely and turned to his Queen. "See that they're made ready for their lords and have them sent away. There's much to do in this castle without all this idleness."

"Of course, Zagato," Emeraude smiled. "Ferio. Choose your girl. And where is Lantis?"

"He's there," Zagato pointed to the far corner of the room. "Deep in conversation with Balu Ascot." He glanced at Umi's dangling form. "Is it customary now to present slaves in a hanging fashion?"

Emeraude giggled and leaned against her husband's arm. "No, darling. She was crude and loud, and is being punished for it. Ah, her poor legs; look how her pretty flesh is marred with welts."

"Keep to the traditions," Zagato warned the Pages, "And see that blood is never drawn."

"Of course, Highness!" they chorused.

Lantis, the man Emeraude had mentioned, was brought forward into the group by Ferio. Fuu and Hikaru could only see his feet, but Umi was able to size him up thoroughly, if from an upside-down position. He was _very_ tall, with dark hair and eyes. His face was as solemn and rigid as Zagato's. Umi realized that he was the other Prince they'd spoken of; Zagato's brother.

"Lantis!" Ferio clapped his step-brother on the back jovially. "A present for you. Lovely young women from the other world. Have your pick, my brother!" He leaned closer to him. "Though, do stray from the blonde one… I've taken a great liking to her."

Lantis scowled. Umi noted that he looked very annoyed.

"I have no interest in pleasure slaves," he said.

"I can't see why. Women in this kingdom fall over themselves to be with you, so tall and strapping you are! But these young girls are all _exceptional._ That one hanging over there is a bit loud, but I'm sure, with a few lessons in _courtesy,_ she'll be nice and pliable for you."

Lantis shook Ferio's hand from his shoulder. "Do not bother me with such idiotic trifle."

"Oh, come, brother-in-law," Emeraude frowned. "If anything, take one as a companion of sorts. You need not trouble yourself much with her, but I'd hate to give over such beauties to some common lord."

Zagato stood next to his brother. "Ferio has decided on the young blonde. Choose between the bluette and the redhead now, please." The comment made Fuu shrink against the carpet. She'd been chosen as the _pleasure slave_ of a _Prince…_ Pleasure slave… _pleasure…_

Lantis glowered. He didn't look happy at all about having to pick a girl for himself. But he looked as if he didn't want to go against his brother. Reluctantly, he eyed the two remaining girls. He looked at Umi for a while, but her nasty looks and fidgeting seemed to put him off. Instead, he bowed down and took Hikaru's chin roughly into his head. She looked up at him with wide, watery ruby eyes. If she could see herself, she definitely would have seen that she looked quite pretty. Her hair was unbound and wild around her heart-shaped face, her cheeks were flushed and her young breasts were heaving with anxiety. Lantis looked into her eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Finally he stood with a weary sigh. "I shall take this one. But not now; return her to the slave quarters and let her rest. Wait until I send for her."

Hikaru gasped as she was hauled from her knees and forced out of the throne room. She cried out along the way. "No! Please, stop! Don't do this to me!" Her despairing cries echoed throughout the room. It made Fuu begin to weep.

Umi watched the girl go sadly. She looked at Fuu, quaking on the ground below her, and then took to observing the room. There were a few people scattered about. Most were leaning against the walls in idle conversation with one another. A few watched disinterestedly. Her eyes paused at the figure of a young boy leaning against a table to her right. She'd noticed him earlier; he'd been watching her for some time.

"Tsk, tsk," Ferio said, bringing Umi's attention back to the situation at hand. "What to do with _you,_ oh fiery one?" he joked.

The King and Queen both studied Umi. "Not enough Princes to go around, it seems," Emeraude sighed. She approached Umi and ran soft hands over her flaming legs. Umi winced at the touch, her skins smarting and stinging. "Such a lovely frame you have, my dear," Emeraude purred. "Beautiful hair, and eyes the color of the sky. Your temper, however, does not become you."

Umi shivered against her touch. How could she stand against such intimidating beauty?

"Clef!" Ferio called. Umi looked round and saw the young boy leaning on the table raise an eyebrow. "Come here and observe this girl. She's a beauty, isn't she? Certainly worthy of the Master Mage."

Umi's jaw dropped. That _kid_? Like hell!

The boy sighed and pushed himself off the table. He reached for a staff taller than him and walked over, looking supremely bored. He was raking pale eyes over her body.

"A fine idea, brother!" Emeraude clapped. "Give her to the Madoshi! Oh, Clef, will you take her?"

"But he's just a kid!" Umi erupted. "Like I'm going to be a slave to some little b—" Her head was grabbed from behind and the leather bit was once again shoved roughly back into her mouth. She squealed against it and squirmed around in her captor's grip. His hands encircling her ankles were beginning to grow very painful. But she was soon dropped to the floor before the boy's feet.

"I am no child," said the young boy. Umi was startled to hear the deep, rich tone of his voice, a voice that certainly did not belong to a child. He turned to the Queen. "She is loud and abrasive. I could not tolerate her for long."

"On the contrary, Madoshi, I think she suits you well. You have a fiery temperament, yourself," Emeraude winked. "I think you'll be able to rise to her ire."

Umi chanced a quick look at the "man" before her head was forced back down. He was very small, smaller than any man she'd ever seen. She would easily have five inches on him! His face was small and round, with lavender hair hanging in his blue eyes. She started when he poked her with the tip of his staff. "She is quite lovely, though."

"Madoshi-san, I insist you adopt this girl," Emeraude pleaded. "If not you, then who else? Balu Ascot, perhaps, or Captain Lafarga, but they have slaves enough. _You_ haven't taken a slave in many years!"

"It's true," he agreed.

"Well then, it's settled," Ferio said. "This… _Umi_ shall be given over to Madoshi Clef."

Umi began to snarl behind her bit. She struggled against the hand that held her against the ground. _Not to some midget man!_ Her mind raged. _No way! No way in hell! God, get me out of here!_ She wept bitterly.

Clef knelt to look into her eyes and frowned. He took her cheeks in his small hands and began to wipe them with his robes. "No, no tears, beauty. I'll not hurt you."

The Page holding Umi picked her up and carried her out of the room. He didn't exactly trust her to walk calmly and quietly alongside him. She cried and struggled the entire way and when the doors closed behind her, the hall was nearly silent.

Slow dread crept upon Fuu's mind. She was the last one; she was alone here, now, will all those insane slave people… and she would be the slave to the Prince, same as Hikaru…

"A festive day," Emeraude said. "Such excitement we haven't seen in some time."

"Go and enjoy your woman," Zagato said coldly to his brother-in-law. "This is indeed the festival season, as my Queen suggested. There are events to plan and ceremonies to perform. See you don't waste _too_ much time with her."

"Oh, none of my time with her shall be wasted," Ferio laughed. He motioned for the remaining Pages to follow him with Fuu out of the throne room. The blonde shook in fright, trying to quiet shrill little animal cries that rose in her throat.

It was over. There was no escape. She was a slave now, selected by the Prince himself.

There would be no returning home.


	2. Chapter 2

To Royalbk: No, this story is not too "wild." Though, of course, that depends on your definition of the word. There's sex. Probably lots of sex. But nothing too crazy. Just answering your question.

* * *

**CAPTIVE AND CAPTIVATED**

**Chapter Two**

That afternoon, Hikaru was placed in the slave hall with the rest of the unused slaves. She, like those around her, was stretched out on luxurious satin pillows, being cared for by their Pages. Her own Page was brushing her long hair. When she asked him to rebraid it, he refused, saying that no slave went about with bound hair. She didn't know what was to become of her or what would happen to her that night, so she allowed the Page to tend to her, staring idly into space and thinking.

Lantis. The Prince. The other Prince, rather. So there were two Princes in this world. There was a Queen, Emeraude. Hikaru felt herself blush as she remembered the Queen's gentle hands and kind smile. And Zagato, the King… he looked so fierce, so solemn… Lantis actually looked _exactly_ like him, though perhaps smaller of stature and with shorter hair. When Hikaru tried, she found she couldn't recall specifically what Lantis' face looked like. He had dark eyes and a strong jaw, but that was all she remembered. He was handsome, she supposed, but so very big. So tall, so imposing… she was almost frightened to think about what he had for her.

She looked down at the Page rubbing scented oils into her calves and willed herself not to tremble. Yes—she was a virgin. She was only fourteen, for Heaven's sake! Well, nearly fifteen. What did she know of physical pleasure? She'd only just discovered within the last year or so that she was actually capable of pleasuring herself. All young girls begin to explore their bodies at a certain age, but… Prince Lantis would surely find little pleasure in such an inexperienced girl as she!

But his face… he looked like he had little interest in her at _all._ He looked positively annoyed at being forced to choose a little pleasure slave for himself. What kind of man did that make him? Was it nobility that kept him from desiring such things, or was it something else? It helped her to think of him as too noble for such acts, if only a little.

She leaned back into her pillow and sighed. She took to studying the high windows of the room, marking that each were far too high to be reached, and there was nothing on the smooth walls on which to climb. Every entrance to every room was guarded. There were no windows in the halls, but perhaps there were some in the hallways upstairs… or in whatever room to which she'd be taken soon…

_There must be some escape,_ she thought desperately. _I've just gotta find a way out of here, no matter what!_ She remembered the two girls who'd been captured with her. Fuu and Umi were their names. It went without saying that she would have to help them escape, too. Of _course_ she would have to help them. But how?

The sounds of a squabble reached her ears and she turned to the doorway. Umi was being carried in, kicking and crying, by a Page. Hikaru watched her, feeling that familiar pang in her heart. _Yes, definitely. I'll help both of them no matter the cost._

_

* * *

  
_

Fuu felt very much like a mongrel pup being led by its master. Prince Ferio had the silken rope that bound her wrists in his hand, and he led her down the hallway with a handful of soldiers following behind. Her dress, which was woefully low cut, was in danger of falling _too_ low and exposing her bare bosom beneath. And if such a thing were to happen, she wouldn't be able to fix it, as her hands were bound together. How ashamed she felt, bare of foot and dressed as if she were prepared for some great feast. As she'd done in the entrance of the castle, she closely observed the hallways around her. No one had passed them in a while, so she was free to keep her eyes ahead. And Ferio never turned once to look at her, anyway. These hallways were very bright; their walls appeared to be solid windows. Though, when she speculated, she thought it very likely that they were simply the outer walls of the castle, transparent from inside but opaque from outside. Probably solid crystal; impenetrable.

_No means of escape yet detected,_ she thought. _Though highly unlikely, the Prince may leave me alone for a small time, and if he does, I shall think of a plan of escape._

She gave a small gasp when she realized that the Prince had turned to look at her. She immediately dropped her eyes, but he chuckled and said, "It's all right. You may look at me, if you wish; especially if I first look at you."

She chanced an upward glance, noting the scars scattered across his cheeks. She supposed, in some alternate universe, she would find him handsome, for he had magnificent golden eyes; eyes like those of a lion.

"My sister will be busying herself with the affairs of the castle today," he said. "This is the festival season, and there's much merriment both inside and outside the castle walls. I'd really rather not participate in all the activities; they're mostly games, mock-duels, fairs, markets… always the same every year." He smirked. "The only thing I really like to do is the mock-dueling. Tournaments are held and prizes are given to the winners. It's just that… no one but Lantis ever fights me seriously. Most _let_ me win, since I'm the Prince."

He stopped at the end of the hall in front of a massive set of oaken doors. He nodded to his soldiers. "You need not follow me in," he said to them. "Stand outside if you want, or go back to Lafarga."

One of the soldiers fidgeted nervously. "Highness, it's our duty to ensure your protection—"

"Protection? Please. Leave me be. Go do whatever you like, I don't care. Catch a butterfly or something." He pulled Fuu by the leash into his room and slammed the doors shut behind them.

* * *

Later that afternoon:

"Come," said Umi's Page. "The Madoshi will see you now."

* * *

Umi felt along her body with shaking hands. They'd taken a lot of time preparing her for this man-boy wizard. Her hair had been left flowing over her shoulders, but they'd adorned her neck with a vulgar, very lavish glittering diamond necklace. To her ears, they affixed equally lavish and vulgar diamond earrings and had also clipped a sparkling bracelet around her wrist. They had refused to dress her, which made her flesh burn bright with shame. She was glad to have been left unbound. She huddled against the dark wood of the headboard on his _enormous_ bed and tried her best to cover what mattered. She was doing it quite poorly.

And he was just _sitting_ there, staring out the window with that glass of wine in his hand. Sadistic bastard, did he enjoy tormenting her like this?

The sun filtered through the open windows, dappling the lush carpet and dancing across his fine hair. He'd decided to dress down for the occasion, discarding his robes and lounging about in a pair of white cotton pants. The ornate headdress was gone and the ever-present staff was leaning against the far wall. He was far less intimidating now. Umi was surprised with herself at the thought. Had she ever thought him intimidating?

God, this was getting boring… she'd peered around his room enough times to map it thoroughly in her mind. He was spare, that was certain. There were few decorations on the walls and only a bit of carved furniture. Her eyes returned to his small frame, seemingly like a statue for the way he just stared and stared out the window… goodness, he really looked like such a boy…

She gave a loud sigh and was immediately sorry for it. His pale eyes flickered onto her. He raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Umi bit her lip and looked into her lap. Her face flamed a bright pink.

The Madoshi swirled his wine around in his glass. "You may speak."

"I—don't know what to say."

"Then say nothing."

She looked at him and he saw that she looked quite anxious. She was trembling, and her young body was flushed all over. He took to looking out of the window again and sighed. "Don't worry. I have no desire to have intercourse with you."

Umi blinked. "So then, why am I here?"

He looked at her and winked. "_Yet._"

"You know, I don't _want_ to have sex with you," she began rather timidly. "So that means you'll be taking me against my will. I—wouldn't have pinned you for being into rape."

To her shock, he laughed. "It won't be rape, I assure you," he said.

She bristled. "Oh? And what makes you think _that_?"

He merely shrugged. "I'm the Master Mage of Cephiro. Such magic can be worked on you as to make you feel however I want you to feel."

Umi spluttered in outrage. "Well that's not any better! It would still be a form of rape! You can't just put spells on people to make them do what you want! You'd _still_ be taking me against my will!"

Now he was smiling, which infuriated her even more. "Did I say I would put a spell on you? _I_ don't have to do anything." He rose, then, and with his wine glass in tow, made his way to the bed. She shrank away from him when he reached out a hand to touch her. It fell against her naked thigh, which still sported red welts from the spanking she'd received. "Does it hurt?" he asked.

She only stared at him with wide eyes.

From the drawer next to the bed, Clef produced a small vial of cream. He set down his wine glass and dabbed a bit of the cream onto her legs. She hissed in pain. It stung!

"Stop that!"

"It will help the welts," he said calmly. "I think you have pretty skin, and so I don't like to see it marred so."

"Well, just tell them to stop taking that switch to me! It hurts!"

"It isn't meant to hurt, really. I mean, of course it does hurt a little, but it's for degradation, not pain. It's meant to make you submissive."

"Ha!" she scoffed, stretching out her legs so that he could continue his ministrations. He had been right; once the initial stinging wore off, the cream was actually quite soothing. "What did you mean earlier?" He raised an eyebrow at her again. "You mentioned magic, but then said you wouldn't use any. What's that supposed to mean?"

A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. He motioned for her to turn over, which she initially refused. "Stop resisting me or I'll have you chained to the wall. Turn over."

The wall? Umi glanced up and saw silken padded shackles adorning the far wall. She gulped and rolled over, doing her best to hide her nakedness. With her face in the pillow, she waited for Clef's next move. To her relief, he continued applying cream to the backs of her smarting thighs and sore buttocks.

"I don't have to put a spell on you," he said. "I could, of course, and it would be powerful—you'd crawl at my feet. And oh, the things I could make you do if I _really_ wanted to." She blushed darkly and he continued. "Magic is complex. In this world, magic is the undercurrent of everything. Everyone has magic inside them, flowing through them, knit into the fiber of their being in the womb. But you, who were born in the sterile, powerless world of Earth, have no such magic within you. You're an empty vessel, if you will. Magic will creep into you after time and it will influence you."

Umi closed her eyes. "I don't understand what that has to do with making me want you."

He chuckled low in his throat. "The air in this castle is fraught with desire. Soon, you'll feel it too." He had long finished applying ointment to her welts and was now merely massaging her muscles. "It will be my desire for you as well that does it. I may not like you much, but you are quite attractive. I desire you, and that magic that permeates my being and the air around me will soon influence you."

"You couldn't make me desire _you,_" she said nastily. "I'd rather be anywhere else but here at this moment!"

He only laughed. "Like I said, _I_ don't have to make you do _anything._ And if you'd rather be anywhere but here, I'll have you sent back to the slave hall."

Umi trembled. "No, I—"

"Oh, but you _said…_" He smiled and crawled over her, straddling the back of her legs.

"No, please…"

"Quiet," he whispered, lowering himself over her back. "I'll not defile you today."

She tensed as his hands spread along her outstretched arms. The bare flesh of his chest pressed against that of her back and when his face found the crook of her neck, she shuddered. No chains, no walls, no slave hall… not that…

His mouth opened near her ear. "Just for this moment, and then I will send you back."

"Please don't… I'd rather stay—"

"You may, if you like," he whispered. He formed himself against her back. "For this day, anyway, you may rest here." His lips teased the flesh of her neck. It was a repulsive feeling, very alien to her. She'd never known the touch of a man.

She trembled and quaked, but his hands were very gentle; soft and small, like a child's. Though, his touch was anything but child-like.

"What was your name again?" he asked.

"Umi."

"Umi. The Sea… lovely."

"How did you know that?"

"When you live as long as I have, you accrue much knowledge. Umi means 'sea' in your native tongue."

"Oh, well, _bra-vo_."

He flicked her in the back of her head. "Shut it."

Umi craned her neck to utter a filthy retort, but she caught sight of the chains on the walls and she bit her tongue. She was naked; how ashamed she would be to hang so exposed on the wall, all for this sick little man's pleasure!

"What's your deal, anyway? You look like you're twelve years old! And yet you say you're old? What do _you_ know about having p-pleasure slaves?" She struggled with the word, atrocious as it was to her ears.

He scoffed, annoyed. "Things are not always what they seem in Cephiro. But I don't wish to answer your questions now. If you want to know things, ask your Page; I don't have the patience to educate you."

"Well excuse me for being a little curious about this world that I've just been _imprisoned_ in _this morning._"

The man, Clef, she recalled, sat up and away from her. "I'm growing weary of your petulant mouth! Be silent, or I'll have you punished!" He pinched the back of her leg and she gasped.

"That hurt! And where's this magic you talked about? Isn't it supposed to be flooding into me, making me think you're oh-so-dreamy and wonderful? I still don't like you!"

Clef vaulted from the bed. "Nor do I like you! You will lie there and be silent!" He pointed to the wall. "Do you _want_ to hang there as my decoration for the rest of the day? And for the night if I feel so inclined?"

Umi looked desperately out the window, and the infernal man-boy smirked. "I wouldn't recommend it, you know. Firstly, we're several stories up. Secondly, there are many powerful protective spells laced around these crystal walls. Unnamed horrors would descend upon you the moment you set foot into the sunlight, I'm sure…"

Umi sighed loudly into the thick coverlet of his bed. No, she did _not_ want that. He might have been tiny and irritating, but at least he was willing to let her rest here instead of in that vast hall surrounded by other half-naked slaves…

He muttered angrily under his breath and moved about the room, busying himself with whatever people of that world busied themselves with. Umi watched him for a time, curled in a fetal position and turning her exposed body away from him. He never looked at her, only resumed sitting in that chair and looking thoughtfully out the window. As she observed his behavior, she thought that perhaps he _was_ older than he looked. He certainly didn't act like a child. No child looked as wise and pensive as he did.

The thought of escape didn't really occur to her again. It was enough for the moment to close her eyes and pray that sleep would find her. She couldn't bear the thought of just lying there and contemplating her fate, trapped for what could be forever in that strange and frightening world…

Before restless, dreamless sleep found her, she rolled over and curled into a large pillow, and when she cracked open an eye, Clef was looking at her. His expression was unreadable.

* * *

"Sit," the Prince said to her.

Fuu stood nervously against the wall, looking down at the carpet. Tears were leaking steadily from her eyes.

"Sit down, ah, Fuu, was it? Don't worry—I won't bite you." He smiled

Tentatively, she slid herself into a nearby chair and continued to stare at the carpet.

The Prince nodded, seeming content, and ambled about the room. He removed his heavy cloaks and some light armor and untied his sword from his waist. "Good to relax," he said.

Fuu shook quietly. There she was, and there he was, and there was his _bed…_ just there… She curled her arms around herself and willed herself not to weep openly. How terrifying, the idea of being taken against her will by a man she didn't even know! She had always planned to save herself for marriage, or at least for that one man who she was absolutely sure she would love forever… The marriage condition, she realized, was only an idea drilled into her from birth, and she found that she didn't so much for the contract as she did the feeling of love.

And she did _not_ love that man. He was frightening. Handsome, maybe, but… He looked at her the way a starving man would eye a slab of beef. She could almost _see_ the horrible things he was doing to her inside his head. Then again, he was a young man; wouldn't any young man do the same? Sex-driven beasts, the lot of them…

Eventually, Prince Ferio sighed. "Come then," he said after he'd taken a sip of water from a nearby chalice. "Lay with me. I'm weary."

Fuu went rigid. "H-highness…"

"It's been a hectic morning, and I desire a nap," he explained. "I'd love nothing more than for you to lay with me, beautiful thing like you…"

Inwardly, Fuu wept. This was it. There went her virginity, right out that window. She was a slave now. _His_ slave. His _pleasure slave._

She rose to her feet and said not a word. Well then, to the bed…

The Prince circled the bed and took her wrist, pulled her roughly with him down to the blankets. She gave the faintest of cries, shaking with terror.

"Oh," he yawned, "This is nice. I do hope nobody comes to disturb us."

Fuu closed her eyes, trying desperately not to recoil from him as he laced an arm around her waist. He reached down to fold a thin sheet over them, the sprawled back against the pillows and yawned again. "Are you comfortable?" he asked her. "Would you like another blanket? I know it gets chilly in here sometimes…"

Fuu shook her head. _Help me,_ she prayed desperately. _Please. Somebody, anybody…_

Prince Ferio reached out to touch her face and she shrank away from him. He looked hurt. "I'm not going to _hurt_ you."

"F-forgive me."

"Come now, Fuu. I only want to sample your loveliness. Here, get out of that white dress; I'd like to see all of you."

She shook violently. "Please…"

He rolled his eyes, looking very amused, and slipped the strap of her gown down her shoulder. Then, with a finger, he removed the other one. Fuu made no move to further discard the dress, so the Prince did it himself. The cold air of the room touched her naked bosom and she began to weep.

"Oh, Fuu, Fuu, you're lovely." He smiled at her and pressed himself against her. "I like you here like this, with me. Come, talk with me. Tell me your thoughts."

She whimpered. "My thoughts?"

"Yes. Tell me about this world you came from. What was your home like? Do you have a family? Any special interests?" He grinned. "Another lover, perhaps?"

"No," Fuu replied quietly. "No lovers."

"You are untouched then."

She nodded.

"Perfect," he smiled. "I'd hoped I'd be the first to have you. I'm wildly jealous at the thought of another man laying his hands on you, and we've only just met! How strange." His hand smoothed her cheek and slipped down her neck. "I'm glad you're not like your friend, that loud blue-haired girl. You're much more agreeable. And much more beautiful, I think." He seemed to be talking more to himself than anyone else, and Fuu decided that he was the type of man who liked to hear himself speak. "Oh, she's tall and lean... lovely eyes, but you, my pet, are an angel. I do love yellow hair, you know, and you have eyes like emeralds. Very beautiful. Much more womanly, I'd say. I would have had hells own time with a hellcat like that _other_ girl_."_

"And who said I was agreeable?" she said, and was instantly sorry for it. She covered her mouth.

The Prince's eyes went wide and he laughed loudly. "Ah, you _do_ have some fire to you, don't you? I like that."

"And yet you didn't like her."

"No," he said, "Far too loud." He dipped his face into the curve of her neck and kissed the tender flesh there, making Fuu go rigid with shame and revulsion. "So, go on. Tell me about yourself." His voice was low and husky against her ear, and she shivered.

"I—I live in Tokyo."

"Tokyo… where is this place, Tokyo?"

She bit her lip when his hand slid across her breast. "In Japan."

"Ah. I must admit I know little of your world. Go on."

"I have… one sister. And my parents, they… They send me to school."

"Oh? What do you learn in your school?"

"History," she blurted out, trying to hold tight to her sanity. "Mathematics—Art—English…"

"I know a little of mathematics, and something of art, but none of this _English…_" He pulled her closer to him and tasted her collarbone. "What else?"

"I—" Fuu was growing hysterical. "I practice archery! And I—oh please, don't—"

"Fuu…" he whispered to her. "Don't be afraid… I'll be good to you…" And he proceeded to ravish her. He kissed her naked breast and slid his hand down her thigh, bring her leg around him. "Do you not find me handsome?"

"Well, yes, I find you handsome." But she couldn't really bring herself to look into his eyes.

"Good," he replied. "Lucky for you, being pledged to a young, wealthy man, rather than some aging old baron. This kingdom's rife with them."

Fuu bit her lip to stifle the cries of terror that strained her throat. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks. _No, no, no, please, no…_

"I—"she gasped, "I thought you were weary…"

He smiled against her shoulder. "I will be when I'm finished with you."

At this, Fuu broke into sobs. She clenched her fists together and begged him, begged him please not to do this to her. He pulled away. "Am I _that_ bad?" he asked.

She only shook her head violently and continued to plead with him. She covered her face with her hands and wept piteously into her palms.

The Prince took his arm from around her and sat up. He was looking at her, clearly confused as to why _anyone_ would deny him. He was a Prince, after all. He'd probably never been said 'no' to in his life.

"No," Fuu cried, "Please—I can't." When he reached out a hand to touch her face, she took it in hers and kissed his knuckled imploringly. "I'm too young, so young! Please, I'm afraid!"

"Too young?" he said. "Surely you're over fifteen years."

"Nearly," she gasped.

"Well, that's plenty old enough. Women in our world marry at your age, didn't you know?"

"Of _course_ I didn't know!" she cried, tearing her hands way from his. "I was _kidnapped _and forced to come to this world! I didn't even know it existed until this morning! Why have you done this to me? How dare you interrupt my happy life and force me to be yours! I hate you! I hate this entire world! Return me home, please!"

Ferio looked as if he'd just been slapped in the face. He frowned. "I've never done anything to you. Why would you hate me?"

Fuu just turned away from him and curled into a tight ball, weeping loudly into her hands. She said nothing to him.

After a time, she heard the Prince say, "But aren't you curious?"

She shook her head. "Curious about what?"

He didn't reply. She felt the bed shift as he rose and she heard him open a drawer and fumble through objects. She didn't care; a whip? Chains? Let him do what he would to her. Any punishment was better than this, anything but stealing her virtue all for pleasure…

Suddenly, she felt his hand against her naked genitals and she shrieked in terror. She rolled away from him with wide eyes. "How _dare_ you! Keep your hands away from me you filthy lech!"

He was smiling and holding a small, silver bottle in his hand. She looked at it in horror. "Wait."

She blinked. "Wait for what? What have you done to me?" She reached down to her lions and touched the flesh there. When she looked at her fingers, they were smeared with a thin oil. "What is _this_?" she hissed. "Are you… _lubricating_ me so as to take me by force?" She threw a small decorative pillow at him. "Filthy coward!"

He laughed. "There's that spice I like. Lay still and let me finish." He took the silken rope into his hand again. "Be still, or I'll tie you down."

"Ha!" she laughed into his face. "You only confirm my accusations! Filthy lecherous _rapist!_"

"I wouldn't exactly call this rape," he said, leaning over the bed and reaching out to her. She lay back on her stomach, half afraid to run and be whipped like the other girl had, yet still completely terrified. Her sharp tongue had not deterred him; what, then, would?

"No!" she protested. "Please—no!"

His fingers brushed against her nipples, hard and pointed as they were from a combination of terror and cold air. The thin oil was left behind, smearing them. She gasped and fought the urge to bite him with he traced the curve of her lips with his finger. There, too, he left smears of oil.

She ran her tongue over her lips and made a gagging noise. "It's horrid!" she said, spitting the oil off. "What have you done? What _is_ that?"

"You'll see," he said.

She opened her mouth to hurl insults at him, but the most curious sensation spread through her loins. It was a faint burning, a tingling. She cupped her sex with her palm. "Ah, take it off me, it feels strange!"

"It can only be washed off," Ferio said, "and I don't feel like putting you into the tub just yet."

The strange cool burning, tingling feeling grew on her nipples. "No," she said, wiping her chest with her hands. When she felt her lips tingling, she began to lick and rub them. "This feels like ointment, why have you done this?"

The burning cooling in her loins intensified. It nearly made her gasp. She placed her hands back there and massaged herself tentatively. It felt almost _good._ It made her want to touch herself, to have those places touched.

She put her hands to her flushed cheeks, feeling dreadfully ashamed of herself. Her nipples burned, tingled, and she thought that the only way to relieve this strange sensation would be to handle them roughly, to rub them again and again and again, . She was horrified when she found that she'd been fingering and sucking her burning lips.

"How dare you!" she cried into his face.

The Prince nodded, seemingly satisfied with his work, and lowered himself next to her. "Is it uncomfortable?" he asked.

Fuu squeezed her thighs together to alleviate the growing pressure between her legs. She could almost _feel_ herself swelling and reddening beneath the sensation. "Yes!" But it wasn't entirely true. She very strongly resisted the urge to slide her hands over her breasts, to squeeze her aching nipples and chew her tingling lips. Fuu shook her head in frustration. "No. This is as good as rape! I don't—I don't want it like this—"

Ferio casually flicked her erect nipple and Fuu gasped aloud. "Hurt?" he asked.

The brief jolt of pleasure left Fuu shaken. She shrank away from him. "I—don't!"

"Fuu," he whispered, laying his palm against her breast. Her breath hissed between her teeth, the simple feeling of his flesh laying there, just _laying _there, was torturous. It made the burning and pulsing of her breasts subside and grow into a hot, quivering feeling of pleasure. He pressed his body against hers. His skin felt terribly cool against her own burning skin.

"Ferio," she gasped. "What have you done to me?"

"It's only an oil," he whispered in her ear, tracing her earlobe very lightly with his tongue. "It's distilled from a special herb. An aphrodisiac." He chuckled softly. "Clearly you can see its purpose. Go on, relieve the sensations, if you'd like. Your hands will relieve it."

She pressed her hands against her aching breasts, whimpering loudly. "It's awful, it's terrible, I hate this…" But she couldn't stop. Her hand dipped between her legs and the feel of her fingertips brushing her swollen lips was maddening. She had to rub. She had to caress. She had to touch and touch, or she felt she would go mad.

"Ferio," she gasped.

He fell on her then like a vulture on carrion. His thigh slid against hers, parting her legs and forcing itself into the heat of her desire. She groaned and tried to pull away from him. "No—"

The Prince only smiled. His hands found her swollen breasts and he began to knead them, rolling her erect nipples between her fingers. Fuu squirmed uncontrollably, shutting her mouth against her shameful cries. It was too much, too intense... if he would but stroke her harder…

She gasped aloud at the thought. No! She was succumbing to desire! No! She couldn't, she--!

"Oh," she breathed when his fingers brushed her lip. Almost against her will, she closed her mouth around his finger and sucked ever so gently. He teased her lips, allowed her to rake her teeth along him, to stroke and rub her mouth against him. "No," she said quietly. "Stop."

"I don't think you _really_ mean that," he said. His face hovered near hers and she finally opened her eyes. His golden gaze was set intently on hers and she couldn't look away. Not with his hands fondling her that way, not with his knee rubbing so deliciously against her genitals…

_I will not submit, I will not submit, I will NOT submit… this is sinful, wrong, shameful. I hate him, hate him, HATE HIM…_

He rolled on top of her and she forced her mouth against his. She couldn't help it. She ached for the feeling of his teeth pulling at her lips. He sucked on her mouth, drank from her lips as if she were a perfectly aged wine. The constant mantra of her conscience was growing ever quieter, seating itself in the back of her head.

Her body took over from there. She rocked her hips against his, pleading for him to push harder against her. Her mind screamed against it, but her legs opened of their own volition and encircled his waist. If only he would… his fingers, his hands, oh, to touch her there, to caress and fondle her and _enter_ her, oh yes enter her, rub and slide his fingers around her swollen, burning lips…

"Oh-h-h," she moaned. "I can't… no…no more…ple—"

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked, grinding his hips down into hers and eliciting a most delightful mewl of pleasure from her.

She bit her lip and turned her head away from his. She couldn't respond, wasn't capable of coherent speech…

"No," she breathed finally. "No, just… keep…"

_Insaneinsaneinsaneinsaneinsane……_

A loud swooping sound from the window caused Ferio to look up in annoyance. A solider mounted on a griffin was perched on the windowsill. Fuu screamed and buried herself beneath the sheets.

"Highness," said the solider, "The King has need of you. It's quite urgent."

Ferio vaulted off the bed looking as if he would tear the poor soldier's head off. "_Go away._"

"I cannot. I was ordered to retrieve you at once. A problem has resulted from the transportation of those Earth slaves."

"What problem?!" Ferio barked.

"I'm unsure, Highness. The Madoshi informed me that a great tear has been rent in the fabric between the worlds, but that's all I know."

The Prince looked at the soldier for several long moments. His eyebrows knit closer and closer together, and his fists became tightly balled.

"I'm kind of in the middle of something," he snarled.

"Forgive me." The soldier bowed out. "The King waits on the grounds below." Then, the young soldier disappeared from the balcony in a loud swoop of wings and disappeared.

Ferio threw his half-full chalice of water out the window and screamed, "Damn it!"

Fuu remained shaking uncontrollably beneath the sheets. Her entire body flushed a bright red, so ashamed she was of being seen lying beneath the Prince like that… She heard the Prince give a loud sigh.

"I'm sorry," he said, "But this does seem to be of some importance." He was scratching his head and cursing under his breath. With another sigh, he donned his cloak and swept from the room. "I'll be back."

The door slammed shut behind him and Fuu slowly emerged from the covers. If she could, she would scream in frustration. Her body ached to be touched, yet her heart was soaked with shame. She'd begged him with her body to touch her… she'd been so shameless and wanton.

"God," she said aloud to no one, "What has come over me?"

The burning in her loins and on her breasts would not cease. She clutched herself desperately, trying to relieve the mounting pressure and throbbing desire. But it was no use; her own hands couldn't bring herself to any kind of fruition, not with the feelings of self-loathing that haunted her. She thought of the Prince. His hands had been soft and gentle. He'd never forced her or made her feel frightened. But he'd nearly _raped her_ using chemical agents! He made her feel desire all so he could take his pleasure from her!

She covered her mouth with her hand and fought hysteria. It hadn't been rape. She didn't tell him no. She'd told him—

"No!" she cried, holding tightly to her swollen breasts. She writhed about and felt the wetness that had condensed between her legs, soaking the fine sheets beneath her. "No, no, no, no, no…"

It was really a most wretched feeling, not knowing whether she was glad he'd gone or whether she'd wished he'd stayed.


	3. Chapter 3

**CAPTIVE AND CAPTIVATED**

**Chapter Three**

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Hikaru dozed fitfully on her feather pillow. She could hear the movements and sighs of the other slaves around her. It was quite quiet in the hall; perhaps it was a designated "nap-time" for the slaves. Though she had done nothing, she felt exhausted. However, though she was exhausted, she could not fall asleep.

The face of the tall, dark, imposing man to whom she'd been pledged burned into the back of her eyelids. His eyes, black as obsidian, had looked on her so disdainfully. He didn't want her. So, why did he take her? Perhaps to shut his brother and sister-in-law up. How dreadful that she would have to be taken by a man who didn't even want her…

After a time, she opened her eyes. The sun thrust its rays through the high windows, and from their flat, golden color, she could tell that it was late afternoon. She'd been there three days already and had yet to be summoned by her man. She'd been groomed by her Page and taken out of doors every once in a while to roam the vast fields and hedge mazes around the castle. Let outside, like a dog… Couldn't they give her _something_ to do? Carry a tray, help in the kitchens? Something, anything? Anything was better than lying here, watching the other slaves come and go.

And she hadn't seen hide or hair of her two earth friends since they'd arrived. She assumed the blue-haired girl was with her small master, as she hadn't seen him either. But Fuu, the blonde… where could she be? Hikaru had seen brief glimpses of the Prince from afar as she roamed the grounds with her Page. He wasn't tending to her, so where was she?

Hikaru sat up and rubbed her eyes. Her hair had been carefully combed, rubbed through with a light oil to make it shine, and it spilled over her shoulders. She remembered that she was naked and tried to cover herself, but to no avail. Many of the other slaves were naked as well. But none of them seemed to mind. Occasionally, one of them would study her small, naked form, but most of the slaves seemed to fear eye-contact too much and so kept their eyes down. She'd studied them enough; she had no fear of being punished for making bold eye-contact. They were all quite beautiful. The boys looked very young, certainly not much older than her. The girls, too, looked quite young. She didn't see any who seemed to be from earth, and she hadn't heard a scrap of Japanese since she'd been there. Oh, so lonely for her, so lonely… if only someone other than the infernal Page who tended her would speak…

She yawned into her hand and was slightly startled to see her page standing behind her.

"Good," he said, "You're awake. Your master has not yet summoned you, but he's given permission to his second in command to enjoy the use of you for this evening."

Hikaru reddened angrily. So, he'd _allowed_ someone to use her, did he?

"I'm nobody's plaything to be tossed about!" she said indignantly. She then blinked in confusion. "His _second-in-command?_ What are you talking about?"

The Page frowned. "Prince Lantis is also the Kailu, the master of all the Mage Knights in the land. His second-in-command requested your company this evening. And you will go with him obediently."

She sniffed. "You may as well just pledge me to this new man instead. At least he wants to see me. I'm sick of this Prince already, and I've never even met him!"

The Page gave her a soft slap across the mouth. "Be silent, young one. The Prince shall call on you when he wishes. He usually does not take slaves and so you may see him only rarely."

Hikaru rubbed her mouth and looked at her folded legs. She opened her mouth to speak, then trembled, and closed it.

"You may speak," said the Page, "as long as you are respectful."

"I just…" Hikaru twisted her fingers together. "It's—It's humiliating. I just don't understand it…" The man raised an eyebrow at her and she fumbled for the words. It _was_ humiliating to just sit there like that. She was pledged to a man who hadn't bothered to come and see her. He was letting his subordinates do what they wanted with her! How terrible! She wanted to scream, to cry, to go into a rage. Why was she brought there? Why was she stolen like that only to be shut away, undesired? Her life was ruined, it was over… she belonged to a cold, heartless man whom she may never see again… it was over! Tears slid down her cheeks. "I just don't know why."

The Page's hand on her head was gentle. "No tears, lovely one. You're to see the master at arms. You want to be beautiful for him, don't you?"

_No,_ she thought, _I don't care. Maybe if I'm ugly, they'll give up on me and send me back home…_

And then the familiar pang wrenched at her heart. _But I can't leave, not without the other two… I have to help them, too!_

Later, in the gardens, Hikaru was ordered to kneel. She bent down to the grass, folding her thin, white dress beneath her feet. It was a dress similar to the one she always wore. Her hair still hung long and thick over her shoulders. The Page also hung decorative beaded earrings from her ears and bedecked her with shining jewelry. Though she was pale and shivering with misery, she did look quite lovely.

"Yes, yes, she'll do," said a soft voice from their left. Hikaru looked up into the face of a tall man with fair hair. She smiled at her, and it was a soft smile.

"Master Eagle," said the Page. "This is Prince Lantis' slave."

The blond man strode forward, his smile wide. He gazed down at Hikaru with bright, amber eyes. "I see! She's lovely. Lantis did well to choose this one!"

The Page shrugged. "I'm afraid it wasn't exactly a choice, my lord. The Prince was more or less pestered into taking her by the King and Queen."

"Pestered?" the man repeated. "Oh, no, Lantis is a fool, then, isn't he? Why, I'd love nothing more than to have a girl like this by my side." He knelt down at forced her to look up at him. "Yes, a lovely heart-shaped face with ruby eyes… a beauty, and so small!"

Hikaru gulped as she held his gaze. He was so different from Lantis or even the other Prince, whatever his name was. Lantis was so ominous, while the other was sarcastic and full of swagger. This man Eagle seemed bright as the day. A kind man. His eyes were gentle and she found she didn't mind so much when he glanced approvingly over her tiny frame.

"Eagle-sama," said the Page, "I shall entrust her to you for the day. I'm sure I don't need to remind you of what is and is not appropriate to do with her?"

The man laughed. "Yes, yes."

"Prince Lantis has not yet seen fit to send for her, and rather than have her isolated all the long day in the Slave Hall, I'm sure the company of another Lord would do her well. Please notify me, sir, when you have finished with her."

Hikaru felt herself bristle at the words. _Finished_ with her?

Eagle bent down and scooped Hikaru up, nestling her into the crook of his arm as if she were a small lap dog. She squeaked in alarm.

"Have no fear, little one," he said kindly. "I'll not hurt you."

When he spoke, Hikaru felt somewhat soothed. He reminded her of the Queen, who had such a kind and gentle demeanor. Her trembling ceased and as she was taken away from her Page, she almost felt glad to be out and about with this new man. She'd feared him at first—the master at arms sounded quite forbidding—but he seemed unlike a soldier.

"So, girl, we're off. I think a stroll through the forest would be nice. What say you?"

Hikaru bit her lip and gave a small shrug.

Eagle chuckled. "You can speak. I'm not as strict as the rest of the castle-folk. I don't mind the idea of pleasure-slavery, but I like not how you and your fellows are treated, as if you're chattel."

"Um," she said weakly. "I—yes, a stroll sounds nice…"

The man nodded and cradled her against his chest. "It's a lovely day today. As long as we keep to the thinner part of the forest, we'll have a good time."

"The thinner part?" she asked. "Why is that—sir?"

"The woods surrounding the castle are safe enough, but if you go too deep, you venture into the realm of the monsters."

Hikaru gulped again. Monsters?

"My men and those of Captain Lafarga keep this country quite safe, but the wild lands, the forests and the wide, neglected fields of the plains where few people live have their fair share of dangerous creatures." He blinked down at her. "Didn't you know that? No? I see, then you're not from this world, are you?"

Hikaru shook her head. "I was kidnapped from the other world and brought here three days ago."

"Ah, I see that now! I don't know why it hadn't occurred to me. You look quite foreign, and I even heard Prince Lantis speak of a raid in the other world…" He smiled. "You're quite pretty, you know. Are all women in your world beautiful like you?"

Hikaru blushed, so charming he was. "I—well, there are lots of pretty girls, but we're not all pretty…"

"Well, lucky me," he joked.

Another brief bristling of anger. Lucky _him, _eh? What about poor, unfortunate, unlucky her? Her ire died away, though, at the sight of his warm smile. _Oh, I wish he were the one I was pledged too, and not that cold, unfeeling, marble statue of a Prince!_

Soon, Eagle had crossed the sloping lawns of the palace and entered the treeline of the forest. It was still bright and warm there, with the sun filtering down through the trees. Everything was so green and beautiful. Birds chirped in the leaves, and the wind was warm against her bare shoulders.

Eagle sighed contentedly and pressed on.

"Um… Eagle, sir… I can walk, you know… if you want me to."

"Unnecessary, pretty one," he said. "You have no shoes. I don't think the Prince would be happy with me if I allowed you to walk about and step on a thorn, marring your cute little feet."

"I don't think the Prince would care," she said bitterly. She covered her mouth—how bold of her!

Eagle frowned. "Why do you say that?"

Hikaru considered her words carefully. Eagle seemed kind, but she didn't want to anger him by speaking ill of his Prince. "Well, since I was given to him, he hasn't sent for me at all. I haven't seen him." She leaned her forehead against Eagle's shoulder and sighed. "I don't think he likes me very much. I don't think he wanted me to begin with, but was pestered into taking me, like the Page said."

Eagle switched her around to his other arm, pausing for a moment to take her head in his hand and press a kiss to her forehead. Hikaru blushed to the roots of her red hair. "Well then, Lantis is a fool. Pay him no mind. I regret you were given to one so cold and unloving. Lantis never really had a penchant for admiring a pleasure slave. He's far too closed off." His smiling mouth moved over her cheek, the grazed her lips. She trembled. "This may be all I could get away with, you know," he said quietly, kissing her lips again. "Would that Lantis allowed me just a single hour alone with you…" Then he chuckled. "Well, I suppose he has."

Hikaru bit her lip against tears. That had been her first kiss!

"What is your name?" he asked her.

"Hikaru," she sighed. "Shidou Hikaru."

"An odd name," he remarked. He tried the name out on his tongue, savoring it.

The redhead shrank against him, worried that he would attempt to kiss her again. While he talked, she noted that he spoke with a strange dialect. His accent was slightly different from the ones used by the other people of this world. Was he a foreigner as well?

"Excuse me, sir," she began timidly, "Are you from this world? You have… a little bit of an accent."

Eagle shook his head. "I'm from the neighboring country of Autozam. I was born and raised there. But, as fate would have it, I became indebted to Prince Lantis for life, and so I serve him here." He sighed. "It's quite a change, since I was a Prince in my old world."

"You were a Prince?"

"You could say that. My father is the country's leader. As well as being a Prince, I was a great commander of many legions… great ships that flew in the sky."

"Ships? Like, battleships?"

"Yes."

"I see, you're a pilot."

He smiled. "Yes, I am. You know what piloting is?"

"I do. In my world, we have airplanes and fighter jets and all those things. Even space stations! We have machinery and technology; things I haven't seen yet in this world."

"This country has little technology, it's true. Cephiro is a magical realm, and Cephrans use their magic to get by. We Autozam natives have no magic and therefore rely on computers and things like that. I assume your people do the same."

She nodded. "We have no magic in Tokyo."

"Tokyo," he repeated. "That's an odd name as well. I don't know much about your world, only that you come from 'Earth' and that your people are 'Earthlings'."

Hikaru gazed up through the trees, squinting as the sun winked in and out at her. The forest was growing denser around them as Eagle kept to well-worn footpaths, passing small groves with fountains and stone benches.

"It's beautiful here," she sighed.

"Yes, it is. My home country is not nearly so beautiful. We have very little flora."

"We don't have much of it in Tokyo, either. I don't get to go to the countryside much, so I rarely get to see pretty trees like these."

"Hm." Eagle took to stroking her long hair, occasionally craning his neck to lightly kiss her temple. "Would you like to see something interesting?" he asked.

She shivered in his embrace. His kisses burned like fire on her skin. "Y-yes."

"Good. It's only a little father through these trees…" He strode away from the path and walked through the dense brush. Hikaru grew anxious. Weren't they traveling into the thicker part of the forest? The part with monsters?

"Eagle—" she began.

"Not to worry. We're not too deep yet. This area is safe."

With his free arm, he withdrew his sword and slashed at the surrounding brambles. The trees here grew closer together and the sun was becoming dimmer. Hikaru peered around nervously, expecting to see some horrible thing leap out at them from the shadows.

After a time, they emerged into a wide glen. Tall grass grew there, spotted with wildflowers. Hikaru gasped—it was beautiful! Before them loomed a massive stone structure. It looked ancient, crumbling in a few areas. A ruined fort, perhaps?

Eagle spoke as if he'd read her thoughts. "The Forge," he offered. "Here dwells Presea, the Master Smith. This is where the great weapons store is located. Long ago, this was the Castle Cephiro, but that was millennia ago."

Hikaru stared up at the building in awe. It was enormous! Though not nearly as tall as the Castle Cephiro (indeed, she doubted that there were any buildings in Tokyo that could rival its height), it stood high, menacing against the blue sky. It was surrounded by a thick wall. There looked to be no door leading inside.

Eagle set her down gently. "You may walk about now. The grass is soft and there's nothing on which to step."

Hikaru stood nervously at his side for a few moments. She stared around her in awe; at the dark trees and bright wildflowers, the tall grass and the looming Forge. Would this Presea person come out and speak to them? Hikaru supposed she wouldn't be in any trouble, not if she was with the Master at Arms.

She knelt down and sat in the soft tufts of grass. They were cool beneath her legs. She reached out to finger one of the blossoms that grew near her. "Pretty," she said.

Eagle sat down beside her. "Yes. I come here often when I seek solitude. It is quiet and peaceful."

"I can see that," she replied. With the sun warming her face and the breeze gentle tickling her hair, she could very well imagine herself staying in that place forever. All thoughts of fear and dread left her, and she even forgot for a little while that she was a grieving slave imprisoned in that world.

Eagle spread his cloak out over the grass. "Come, lie down if you want to."

"I'm not tired," she said. "I've been doing nothing but lying around for days, now. I'm glad to be out of doors."

"Then walk around," Eagle replied. "Feel free to explore. I trust you won't be running off. If you wander too far off, you'll be in danger. This is the Forest of Silence."

"The Forest of Silence?"

"Yes. It's a place full of monsters."

Hikaru froze. "Monsters? But I thought you said—"

"I know the safe paths, and so we never run into one. But if you went back into those woods, I'm sure you'd be food for some creature in no time." He laughed and lay on his back. "Just keep to the clearing."

Hikaru stared around at the trees, wondering if something wasn't staring back at her, hidden in the thick brush. She leaned close to Eagle and said, "No, I'm fine sitting here…"

"Well, that's good, too," he said softly and pulled her down against him. She went rigid with her cheek resting near his collarbone. No, surely this was improper, lying like this in a field with a man other than her… master.

_Master,_ Hikaru thought, reviled. _I hate that word!_

But the bitter thoughts of the Prince were soon pushed to the back of her mind as Eagle began to lightly kiss her cheeks and forehead again. She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut. Would Eagle pay no heed to the words of warning given to him by the Page? Would he defile her, here in this field that was so far from the eyes of the castle? Who would find out, after all, if he did? He would of course deny that such a thing happened, and no one alive would believe a tale of ravishment!

She shook violently when his hands circled her tiny wrists. Oh no, oh no, no, this would be bad, she may be punished…

_But… this will happen soon anyway, and better with this kind man than with the Prince, who doesn't even want me anyway…_

He kissed her lips and she found herself returning the kiss in full. His fingers ran through her hair, coming around to cup the back of her head. It was a frightening feeling, so new to her, but little tingly bits of pleasure grew in her stomach, and her toes curled with those same sensations. She'd never been kissed before, never could have imagined that it would be like this… His lips were very soft, and his teeth biting gently at her bottom lip was delightful.

She gave a tiny mewl of pleasure against his mouth, and Eagle sighed. "Forgive me," he whispered, tasting the sweet flesh of her neck. "I can trespass no further. Gods, would that Lantis would give you to me. You're so beautiful."

"Eagle," she breathed.

"Ah, I could not defile one as young as you…" He pressed desperate kisses against her jaw and over the hair that cascaded down her shoulders. "I hardly know you, and yet, I'm so bold."

_No,_ she thought, _no, I hardly know you either, but this is the first thing that feels even remotely right since I was brought here!_

She twined her arm around his neck and pressed herself close to him, not wanted to be let go. She buried her burning face against him. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice full of sorrow, "But I'm pledged to the Prince."

"I know it!" Eagle replied fiercely. "I will beseech him—yes. You said yourself that he seemed not to care for you. If he truly doesn't, then I shall ask that he give you to me. If he doesn't care for you, then he won't hesitate, right?" He seemed to be convincing himself more than anybody else. "I must be crazy, begging for a slave like this." He blushed like a child. "I've never done such a thing in all my years in Cephiro!" He laid his cheek against hers. "Would you like that, little one? I know I'm not as endowed as a Prince, but I would be good to you, I swear it."

Hikaru only shivered against him. She couldn't bring herself to reply. But yes—yes, she would enjoy that.

He sat up quickly, urging her to rise. "Go on," he said, thrusting her forward. "Go and have a look around. Begone from me, so that I don't defile you further."

She stumbled forward in the grass, looking at him over her shoulder. His smile was warm. She wanted nothing more than to lie back against him, and when she made a move towards him, he held up a hand.

"Go on," he said again.

She stood there for a moment, looking forlornly at him. Finally, she turned and walked slowly towards the Forge. She wasn't sure what she was doing, but as long as she was walking somewhere, it was all right. Those little tingly feelings were still coursing through her fingers and toes, making her stomach do flips. How foreign to her, the touch of a man! The lips of a man! She touched her lips, bruised with his kisses and thought, _I couldn't imagine a better place to lose my virginity… here, in such a beautiful place…_

She reached out aimlessly to touch the thick stone of the wall. It felt ancient, as if it had been there since time began. All within the wall was silent. She heard no movement. She turned and walked slowly along the wall, fingering the stones with her hand.

_He wants me,_ she thought with a thrill of pleasure. _He wants me enough to ask Lantis if he could have me instead! Would Lantis agree to that? Surely me must… he would be so cruel if he said no. Why not give me to someone who actually desires me?_ Cold bitterness swept through her. _I'll hate him so much if he denies me this…_

She paused and knocked on the thick stone. When she looked down, she saw that the flowers here were more beautiful and grew closer together than out in the open field. Perhaps this had been a garden once, a garden that traced the entire length of the Forge. It may have been well kept once but, like the building, it had been allowed to ruin.

Her knuckles fell through open air and she glanced up. The wall had disappeared. Hikaru blinked. Yes, there was an opening here. Hadn't the wall been solid before? When she stepped back to look at it, she saw that there was now an opening only slightly taller than herself. She would have taken an oath that that opening had not been there before. She looked through it, curious. _What could be inside?_ She wondered. Probably an old ruined courtyard, with dusty fountains and scraggly bushes…

She turned to ask Eagle about the wall and paused when she observed his expression. His jaw hung limp. He stared at her as if he'd never seen her before.

She frowned. "Eagle? Sir—"

"Come away," he said quickly. He leapt to his feet and ran to her. "Come away," he said again. He took her hand and pulled her away from the wall.

Hikaru was shocked. "But why? Is it dangerous? Are there monsters in there?"

He didn't answer her. He took up his cloak and pulled her through the open glen. The two plowed back through the thick underbrush. After a moment, Eagle took her up again into his arms, slashing at the brambles that reached out to snag at them.

"What is it?" she asked. "Did I do something wrong?"

Eagle was muttering to himself. Hikaru couldn't quite make out his words, but he said something to the effect of only one person in all of Cephiro being able to open that door.

She clutched at him, growing angry. What was his problem? Why did they have to run away like this? And why wouldn't he answer her?

After ten minutes of silence, they finally broke through the thick brush and stood in the thin smattering of trees on the outskirts of the castle. Hikaru blinked in the sunlight. Were there figures standing there against the hills, or was it a trick of the light?

Eagle brought her towards them and when she squinted, she saw that a small group of soldiers was standing in the clearing. They looked different from the other soldiers she'd seen. They wore bright cloaks and had little armor on. Standing among them was the tall, imposing figure of the Prince.

"Lantis!" Eagle called, waving to his comrade. The Prince turned and nodded curtly at them.

"Eagle," he said quietly as they drew nearer. "I thought I might find you here. Taking a stroll through the Forest of Silence?"

Eagle smiled at his Prince, placing Hikaru gently on the ground beside him. "Yes. On such a lovely day as this, what do you expect?"

Lantis glanced briefly at Hikaru's shivering frame. "Thank you for attending my girl today," he said.

Eagle gestured dismissal. "I'm always honored to care for the pretty palace slaves. Especially yours, Highness." Hikaru studied his face, seeing that the anxiety which had been present there only moments before was completely gone. What had happened?

Hikaru looked up at her Prince. He was looking back at her with an unreadable expression. She blushed darkly and stared at her feet, feeling great misery steal upon her. So ended her wonderful day out on the grounds with this kind new man… now she would go back to the castle, hidden away in the Slave Halls, never to be attended by her Prince… She felt she could cry with despair and hatred.

Eagle nodded at the soldiers standing around them. "Your Mage Knights in training?"

"Yes. I'm sending them out to hunt monsters today. They're all too idle as of late." He gave his men a sharp look and they all stood stiffly at attention, scolded like children. "Go," he said to them. "Do not come back without the head of a monster in your hands."

"Hai, Kailu-sama!" they chorused, and turned and trotted off into the woods.

_Kailu,_ Hikaru thought. _So, then, he's a general of sorts, as well as being a Prince? A trainer of… Mage Knights?_

Again, as if he'd read her thoughts, Eagle said, "Your Prince here is the foremost Mage Knight in the land."

Lantis shrugged as if it were of no great significance to him. He motioned to Eagle. "I hate to interrupt your frolic, but I'd like you to go see Captain Lafarga, if you don't mind. He's with my other men now, and he has need of you."

Eagle, for a brief moment, looked torn. He gave Hikaru the smallest of glances. "Yes sir. If it's all right with you, I… well, there's something I'd like to speak to you of later."

Lantis frowned. "Can't you talk with me now?"

"No... It's something I'd prefer to divulge in private."

"Very well. Go and attend Lafarga, and I'll send for you later."

"What of the girl?"

"I'll take her home, now. I may retire for the day."

Hikaru watched her pale Prince walk away with a sad look on her face. All sunlight seemed to go out of the day. Everything now seemed dull and wan. Lantis was looking at her now, and she couldn't bring herself to stretch her mouth into something even resembling a smile. She rubbed her bare shoulders and wondered miserably whether or not the Prince would banish her back to the Slave Hall.

"Did you have an enjoyable afternoon?" Lantis asked suddenly.

Hikaru blinked. Did he only feign interest in her activities or was he genuinely interested in whether or not she'd had fun? "Y-yes… Highness…"

The Prince was squinting at the castle in the distance. "I thought you might like a reprieve from the close confines of the Slave Hall."

_You thought right,_ she thought bitterly.

The large man stepped towards her, and she shrank back a bit. "Come," he said. "You must return to the castle, but you need not go back with the other slaves. I have the time to attend you today, and so I shall." In one swift motion, Lantis picked her up as if she were light as a flower and placed her on one of his wide shoulders. She sat upon his armor like a small bird and swayed slightly from dizziness. She blinked down at his hair.

"Do people in this world think I can't walk?" she asked, irritated. "Why does everyone insist on carrying me everywhere?"

Lantis gave her a curious look. "Well, you're bare of foot…"

The redhead colored slightly, realizing she'd been impertinent. "I—well, the grass is soft, and I was raised like a boy anyway, so I always went everywhere barefoot..." The Prince only looked at her as if she'd spoken in another language. She sighed. "Never mind."

When she looked down at him, his lips were pursed and he was casting his eyes about nervously, as if trying to think of something to say. She was almost surprised. Did he feel _awkward?_ Well, it was no wonder, with how little he was rumored to coerce with females. She suddenly felt angry. After all the time he'd left her alone, he could at least apologize for it or something!

She set her jaw and took to studying the field. If he insisted on perching her on his shoulder as if she were a parakeet, so be it. It may have felt awkward walking by his side anyway. He began the slow climb over the hills to the castle, keeping one arm securely on her hip. He said nothing to her. When she grew weary of staring at the fields, she chanced a glance down at his head. Sitting there on his shoulder, she felt so incredibly tiny! Her hips fit easily on his wide shoulder and she was sure, if he wanted to, that he could toss her over his head like a baseball and send her flying for leagues. Perhaps she hadn't noticed until just now just how immense he was. Tall, yes, but also very broad. She cautiously rested her elbow on his head for balance, and when he did nothing in response to it, she relaxed a bit. Her fingers rested in his hair. She observed its sharp darkness, like obsidian, and fine and shining like a black stallion's mane. Yes, he was very different from Eagle, whom she thought of as very beautiful. Lantis didn't have a beautiful face like Eagle's, or pretty eyes, but his jaw was strong and his face aquiline. She shivered suddenly; no need to look on this man any more than was necessary. She was his…_ pleasure slave._ Soon, he would take what he wanted from her, if he wanted it at all.

_Kami, is that where he's taking me?_ She worried. _Is he bringing me to his rooms to…?_

She was suddenly aware that he was peering round at her and straightened up a bit. "Are you hungry?" he asked. She gulped and shook her head. "Well, I plan on retiring for the day and will take dinner in my rooms. You may accompany me, if you'd like."

Hikaru felt her heart tighten in her chest. Rooms. Accompany.

"Oh," was all she managed to say.

He looked directly into her eyes. "What is your name?"

"Hikaru…"

"Hikaru? I am Prince Lantis, if you didn't know."

"I—I knew."

He nodded curtly. "I'm sure you could tell this when we first met, but I don't agree with the slave system in this land. My brother and his wife enjoy it, as does most of my court, but I rarely partake. I took you because I would have hated to see you go to a lesser man." He frowned. "Beauties from the other world, like you, don't deserve this treatment."

Hikaru didn't know what to say. Was he trying to engage her on conversation, to inquire as to what she thought of the situation, or was he only thinking out loud, or trying to justify his actions?

"I see," she said finally.

He tightened his hold on her as they ascended the castle steps and said, "Have no fear; I shall treat you with courtesy, as a woman, and not as a slave. Though you're pledged in service to me, I will treat you as an equal. Keep in mind, however, that before my court, you must be obedient and docile, as a slave should be." The frown deepened. "It's _expected,_ and I can do nothing about it." When she was silent, he looked at her and said, "You may speak."

Hikaru sighed. She'd speak her mind, punishment or no. "If you're the Prince and you don't agree with the system, then send me back. Send _us_ back. We should be in our own world, not slaves in this one!"

He shook his head. "There is nothing I can do about that."

Hikaru bit her lip and did not reply. So there really _was_ not hope of leaving this world. If the Prince himself would not help her, who would?

Tears welled in her bright eyes and she squeezed them shut, banishing them. She didn't want him to see her cry. But the tears came anyway, and as they rolled down her round cheeks, she sobbed quietly.

Lantis paused suddenly. A tear had fallen on his cheek. He lifted a hand to wipe it away and looked up at her. His eyes, for the first time, reflected wonder. Hikaru turned away.

"Come now," he said softly. He slipped her from his shoulder and held her away from him as if she were a doll. "None of that. No tears."

She shook her head violently, closing her eyes. "Forget it; just leave me alone, please."

"I won't do that today. Not today. I want you to accompany me." After a moment of staring into her tear-stained face, Lantis cradled her against him and continued on towards the castle. "This is the festival season," he said as they passed through the gates. "There will be shows and fairs, mock-duels and merriment. You may watch, if you'd like. In fact, I insist that you do. Come, to my chambers."


	4. Chapter 4

**CAPTIVE AND CAPTIVATED**

**Chapter 4**

**

* * *

  
**

Fuu gazed blankly out of the window. She sat in a small chair, looking out over Ferio's balcony. She didn't have the energy or desire to venture outside. She was too lonely, too bored. It had been nearly two days since the Prince had left her lying naked in his chambers. An hour or so after he'd left, her Page had come to tend to her, bringing her meals and bathing her, speaking soothing words to her. The Prince had yet to return.

The sky was blue and clear outside. On the grounds below, she could see the wind blowing through the trees, rustling the open fields of wildflowers. Today, there were people milling about below. Tents were being erected. People walked around bearing long, colorful streamers. A special occasion, obviously. Well, the King had said something about the festival season…

Oh, this was wretched. Fuu hated sitting up in that gilded cage all alone. She'd rather be back in the slave hall, lying on small cushions with dozens of other slaves. At least then she'd have some company.

She sighed and relaxed into her chair. She'd been giving a lot of thought to some possible mode of escape. The plans included but were not limited to: jumping from the high castle walls, seizing a flying beast and attempting to fly back into the portal in the sky, poisoning her Prince and fleeing through the open window and even stealing weapons to fight her way out. But all of those plans had huge flaws. She could no sooner survive a jump over the high castle walls than she could fly. Neither did she think she could ever get her hands on any poisons or flying beasts to escape, and she certainly had no weapons training. There was nothing she could do at the present time to return home.

She clutched her fists. It was maddening! Fuu had always been able to think her way through any problem. There was nothing she could never solve with her intellect! There must have been something, some minor detail she had overlooked…

Finally, in bored frustration, she rose and began to pace the floor. The single thin robe she'd been given was draped over the bed. Yes, she was still naked. After a day or so, she no longer noticed how cool the castle air was on her naked skin. She paused, staring at the robe. After a moment, she yanked it from the bed and slung it over her shoulders. Pushing open the wide, balcony doors, Fuu stepped out into the bright sunlight. It was warm out. When Fuu had been stolen from Tokyo, it had been late summer, with hot, dry weather. This world must have been in a similar season. Fuu wrapped the robe loosely around herself and milled about on the balcony. It was spacious enough, with enough room for a few benches and potted plants. She peered over the side and looked down upon the people below. She could see the tents and colorful pavilions, with many different colored flags flying through the air. A breeze picked her loose, golden hair up and blew it over her shoulders.

She adjusted her glasses on her face and squinted at the ground. By her calculations, she must have been about seven or eight stories up. She could see heads, and hair color, but that was about it. She could distinguish no faces. She leaned farther over and gasped when her glasses slid from her face. She reached out frantically to grab them before they fell far to the ground below. She managed to catch the very tip of the frame with her fingers and gave a relieved sigh. When she glanced back down, she paused, noting that it was not blurry. Or rather, not nearly as blurry as it should be. She frowned and looked through the lenses of her glasses. The sky came into slightly sharper focus, but when she removed the frames, she saw that the clouds were only slightly less focused.

"My eyes…" she said aloud. Normally, she has _terrible_ vision if she weren't wearing glasses. But now her eyesight was almost _perfect_ without them on. She frowned again. "Odd."

She considered it for a moment, and decided that perhaps the magic of the world she'd been brought to had something to do with it. She'd never seen a single person in the castle wearing glasses, so perhaps people in this land had perfect vision. It sounded rather silly though, when she thought about it further…

_This is something I shall have to investigate,_ she mused. She folded her spectacles and placed them gingerly on the stones before her. When she looked at the ground, the figures below were still pretty clear. She spotted an untidy mop of green hair and narrowed her eyes. The Prince. Ferio.

_Two days_ he'd left her up in that awful room. What the hell was he doing down there now? She watched as he walked about, swinging around a sword and looking generally cocky. Another man approached him and appeared to converse with him. From her height, all she could hear was the wind and a dull murmur from the crowd below. The new man had dark hair, very dark. She studied his armor and realized it was Lantis, the other Prince. _Ah yes, it must be him,_ she thought,_ for there is Hikaru on his arm._ The little glint of red hair lifted her spirits. Finally, a glimpse of one of the others. At least Hikaru had not been harmed. _Then again, neither have I. I've never been given reason to believe that I'd be harmed in any way, other than light punishment for being out of line…_

She watched Ferio converse with his stepbrother closely. Ferio was looking resolutely at the crowd while Lantis fixed him with a stern look. Eventually, Ferio lowered his sword and, reluctantly, sheathed it. Ah, chastisement. When Lantis walked away, she saw Ferio turn and stick his tongue out at him.

"Ha!" She clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle the idiotic laughter. What cared she about his ridiculous comportment?

As if he felt her watching him, Ferio turned his head this way and that, casting his eyes about, before finally looking up and staring at her.

Fuu felt herself blush. The last time she'd seen him, he'd been storming from the room after his wild attempt at ravishment. She'd given the entire situation very careful consideration as of late, of course… it was her nature to do so. She did her best to analyze what had happened from a professional point of view, without any girly, teenage bias. Her physical reactions had been typical. She'd felt pleasure at the touch of his hands in every area that was expected to experience it. Her body reacted as any other normal body would do under such stimulation. So, she did not completely feel that she was at fault for urging the Prince on, nearly against her will.

But of course, there was that _completely_ word…

NOT completely…

She narrowed her eyes down at the Prince and banished the thoughts. He was a lecherous young man with lecherous thoughts and lecherous hands and… an infuriatingly handsome smile. Gold eyes; lion's eyes.

_Dirty bastard._

She threw her hands up in the air to signify the thought, _What the hell!?_

Ferio merely stared up at her, bewildered. Then, he, too, put his hands up as if saying, _Sorry…_

She stuck her tongue out at him and he smirked that stupid, maddening smirk of his. And was that a wink he'd just given her!?

She gave a loud _Hmph! _and stormed back into his chambers. If she would have stayed, she'd seen that he stared after her for several long moments, and that he eventually wandered away, casting longing glances at the empty balcony. Let him stay out there all day and night if he wished. She didn't care whether or not he returned.

But she didn't think she'd mind if he smirked at her like that again.

* * *

In Clef's chambers, Umi lay sprawled out on a long couch. Her shoulders were propped up on several gilt little pillows and her arms were positioned over her head, as if she were stretching and relaxing lazily. Her hair, left long and flowing over her shoulders as usual, carefully covered each of her breasts. She sighed heavily and stared at the ceiling.

"Aren't you done yet?" she asked.

Clef, who was hidden from view, scooted out from behind the canvas he was working on and frowned. "No."

Umi rolled her eyes. She was getting a cramp. He'd been painting her for several hours now and she was thoroughly sick of it. She didn't dare say a word about it, though. She'd spent the entire night before tied to the canopy of Clef's massive bed. After being nasty to him that day, he'd gotten fed up with her and punished her well. She was forced to spend that whole night looking down at him, naked and ashamed, with nothing to do but watch him sleep. She feared his ire now and kept her mouth shut.

"Please keep your eyes down," he said after a time. She frowned and looked at the floor. She'd been staring at the back of his canvas without knowing it.

Over the past few days, Clef had been busying himself with her in the most ridiculous ways. Apparently the Master Mage of Cephiro didn't have much to do with his time, for he made her accompany him on very long walks, read boring lines of verse to her (or perhaps just aloud to himself), made her sit beside him as he drew out huge, complicated maps, and even had her plot points on a chart as he stargazed. Infuriating things, really. What was she, his servant? Well, she supposed it was better than being forced to copulate with him, which he had yet to attempt. And that, of course, made her wonder, because he'd certainly had his hands on her enough times. In private moments that made her blush to think about, Clef had massaged her naked limbs, very gently combed her hair, or simply studied her, smoothing gentle hands over her body for hours at a time. He didn't seem to be attempting to excite her, but she found herself unknowingly responding to his hands. She would be left after his long ministrations, shivering and heated, with slightly labored breathing.

She closed her eyes and willed herself not to think about it. But really, when he wasn't annoying her or being nasty and cold to her (as a result of her own nasty coldness, of course), he was quite sensual, and very nearly worshiped her long, lean form.

"Umi," he said softly, rousing her from her daydream, "You don't like being my muse?"

She sighed again. "It's not that…"

"You are uncomfortable?"

"…a little."

He peeked at her from around the canvas again, paintbrush in hand. "I'm very nearly done. But we can pause, I suppose. I am rather hungry."

She watched him rise and call for a servant. Umi remained on the couch, unwilling to move without his permission.

He stood by and studied the painting he'd been doing of her. She couldn't see it, but by the colors she could see on his palate, she could tell it would be an interesting one. The only colors he was using were shades of blue and white, even though the couch on which she laid was very bright. Oh well. What did she care for his silly painting?

When a man entered the chamber with a small tray, Clef took it from him and dismissed him. "Sit up," he said to her, "Have something to eat."

She obeyed him. "Tea?" she asked.

"Yes. It's made from rose hips, and is rather sour. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," she said. "I don't really care for sweet things."

He nodded thoughtfully. "Nor do I."

Umi took a gilt teacup from Clef and narrowed her eyes at him, annoyed. She refused to partake in casual conversation with the man, not after last night. She drank the tea but refused the fruit and cream he'd offered her.

Clef sat down on a large cushion in front of her couch and sighed. "I actually may have to leave you soon."

"Why's that?" Umi asked with no real interest.

Clef sipped his tea and said, "Apparently there's a problem in the sky."

"Sorry?"

He looked at her. "The veil between the worlds is torn. Apparently your kidnapping has caused a disruption in the veil that separates our worlds. I'm not sure why or how it happened, but it could be problematic if it doesn't repair itself."

"What do you mean, 'torn'?"

He leaned back on his elbow and studied the carpet. "I'm not sure if I know what it means, myself."

"Oh, well that clears it _all_ up," she muttered into her tea.

Clef looked askance at her. The jibe was said under her breath, so he had an excuse to ignore it. "I've been studying my divining pools, and they tell me something's amiss in the sky. I've watched Lantis and his men try to discern what it means. I don't think they've told the King and Queen yet, but most of his men know. Mostly, they just stare up into the clouds in awe. It's always at twilight, of course. The rip in the fabric can only be seen then."

"Why so?"

He shrugged. "I suppose you can only see something like that in dim light. It may or may not also be visible just before dawn."

Umi pondered this. Surely Clef would be called upon to see about this "tear" himself soon. She doubted she'd be privy to any information shared between him and his officials. She wondered where she would go if he were ever to be summoned away. The Slave Hall entered her mind and she cringed.

Clef gestured dismissal. "That's not my biggest concern, however. Through my divining, I've been able to see that something bigger is going on. Though what it is, I cannot say." He rubbed his eyes slowly. "My vision is clouded as of late."

Umi sighed. "Well, if you'd like, you can continue painting. I feel fine enough to lie down for a while longer." She rubbed her leg, proud of what a cool liar she was. A cramp was developing. Oh, nasty cramp. She thought she would die if she had to lie on that couch much longer.

Clef's eyes followed her hands and after a moment, he moved closer to her and took her leg.

"It's fine," she began, "I'm just a little stiff—"

He raised a hand for her to be silent. With his other hand, he maneuvered her leg into his lap. His gaze was unnerving her. He was staring very intently into her eyes, almost as if he were mesmerizing her with some form of dark magic. She felt no such magic working on her, but allowed him to do whatever he liked with her leg anyway.

"I will resume painting in a moment. And yes, this is how I wile away my time." He looked down at her shin and ran small thumbs along the length of her calf. "Yes, stiff." He began to very gently smooth the skin of her legs with his hands, passing them up and down their length, stopping just at the knee and circling the ankle.

"You are a Pisces, are you not?" he asked suddenly.

Umi frowned. "What?"

"I believe you understood me the first time. Are you, or are you not, a Pisces?"

"Well…" she twisted her fingers together, looking awkwardly at the wall. What the hell was he getting at? "Yeah, I suppose I am…" Her frown deepened. "How do you know anything about the Zodiac? Isn't that an Earth thing?"

Clef shook his head. "The stars here and the stars in your world are the same. In fact, this whole world is the same. They parallel and mirror one another in different dimensions. The truths of this world are the same as in yours. And yes, we have something similar to your Zodiac here. Those of the Old Faith live and die by the constant wheeling of the stars overhead. Their birthdates play vital roles in whom and what they are, just like in the Zodiac." He grinned a grin she didn't quite like as he kneaded his thumbs into her calf. He looked almost mischievous. "Did you know that Pisces rules the feet?"

"Um… no."

"Know you nothing of your Sun?"

"My _what_?"

He shook his head. "An ancient sorcerer like myself is well versed in the Mysteries. They're more important here than they are in your world, obviously."

"Well, no, I did not know that Pisces rules the feet. I'm not even sure what that means. All I know is that I'm very nearly an Aries, with my birthday near the cusp."

Clef wrinkled his nose. "I'd like it not if you were an Aries. The first sign; the dominant, "me!" sign. No, I like you much better as sensual Pisces."

"Sensual, you say?"

"Yes. Pisces is the sign of dreams and self-delusion. Very romantic." Another dark grin before he finally moved to her foot. "I like that about you. I believe that was what I first noticed about you… your subtle sensuality."

Umi gently tried to tug her foot away from him. She'd never been fond of anyone touching her feet. "Your painting."

"No," he breathed. He grabbed her ankle and pulled himself up to her, quickly trapping her hand in his and yanking her forward to kiss her. It was sudden and caused Umi to squeal and lose her balance. The two fell to the floor together in a small heap, with Clef's lips pressed fervently to hers.

"Mmph!"

His hand capturing her neck was strong. She couldn't pull away. Her fingernails dug into the collar of his robes, but he held tightly to her. When she tried, she could it difficult to resist him. Her limbs did not quite obey her. Perhaps he'd worked spells into her flesh as he massaged her. Black magic indeed; she couldn't turn her mind from him.

_He said he wouldn't work spells on me. Liar!_

As before, however, she attempted to relax into the embrace. All those hours he'd spent caressing her flesh over the past few days had left her somewhat malleable and docile. During those times, she'd found it most convenient to just clear her mind and ease into his hands, almost as if she were willing herself out of her body.

His hands found her breasts and she shuddered. The feeling was not entirely unfamiliar, but unsettling nonetheless. _All right, just relax. They're only hands. It won't hurt… they're soft, and small… only hands… Be blank._

Two hard points of electricity pulsed on her chest. _No,_ said another voice. _Be aware._

It was like being sucked into a vacuum. She was suddenly very aware of her limbs. Pulling… yes, she was being pulled.

_No, no, I can't do it…. _

Another pulse, this one strong. It was hot; very hot. She gasped, a huge breath full of cold, castle air, and felt her limbs all flash with a wave of white-hot, freezing ice. She heard Clef gasp and felt his hands snatch away from her.

Her eyes flew open. Yes, she was in her body fully again. Her fingers were numb and tingly as if she'd just been fitted back into her own suit of flesh. She shook violently. "Painting," she breathed, "I thought you wanted to paint!"

Clef was sitting some feet away from her, clutching one of his hands, which seemed to be smoking with a strange looking glow. He was glaring at her. "What did you do?"

Umi sat up and realized her skin was covered in a fine layer of cold sweat. Her shivering continued. "I don't know what you mean—" Sobs escaped from her tightening throat. "What do you expect? I feel as if you're trying to rape me…"

He scoffed. "I've never given you a reason to fear for your precious virginity! If I wanted to take you by force, I would have done so long ago! Be quit of your nasty behavior immediately or I'll send you from my sight!" He began clenching and unclenching his fists. "Stop your weeping, I've not harmed you."

"All right," she said, wiping her eyes. "Just don't — in the future, if you plan to… defile me, just give me some kind of warning or something. And have me do something _useful_ for God's sake! I'm tired of padding around by your side like a puppy while you do stupid, boring things all day!"

Clef very nearly pouted. "I'm not boring…"

"I didn't say you were boring, I said that watching you plot stars or read a book or stirring your damn potions is boring!"

The Mage rubbed the bride of his nose. "You know, I feel I don't entirely have the energy to argue with you right now."

"Well, what makes you think I have energy for you?"

Clef waved her off. "Enough. I didn't want to argue with you today. Let's be peaceable. Come, resume your place on the couch, if you will. I only have a bit left to paint." He looked askance at her. "I'm sorry if you find it _boring…_"

Umi frowned. "Well, is it a pretty painting?"

"Of course."

She leaned back into her position on the couch. With her arms crossed, she turned to him and said, "Then it isn't boring. It's of me, anyway."

He looked as if he wanted to laugh, but didn't. Umi rested her arm over her head, as she was supposed to, and stared at her master. Clef studied her form for a moment before turning back to his painting. He wasn't hidden behind it now, however, and every once in a while, he would glance at her again and make more dabs on his canvas.

Rather than avert her eyes, she held his gaze steadily whenever he looked up and, after a time, he ceased to look at his painting and stared continuously at her.


	5. Chapter 5

**CAPTIVE AND CAPTIVATED**

**Chapter 5**

**

* * *

  
**

The festivities below were intriguing. Hikaru watched them, only slightly nervous, for she was distracted at the moment. It was the colorful streamers and bright dresses of the people below that enchanted her. A summer festival. It was very beautiful.

Lantis stood beside her on the balcony. He, too, watched the crowd mill about. Hikaru chanced a quick glance at him before studying the horizon. It was a pale violet color. Soon, the sun would set. The people below were preparing to light fires.

On her chair, she sat upon a thick, comfortable pouf. She'd also been provided wine to drink and some small sandwiches to eat. Lantis seemed to be concerned with her level of comfort. Unfortunately, though, he'd requested that she remain nude in the typical slave fashion. She'd never been naked before him before and was humiliated when her Page came to undress and bathe her. Lantis took some time to study her, but he mostly allowed her privacy and peace. When she glanced at him, she saw that his eyes were always elsewhere. Perhaps he was trying to be polite. Or maybe he'd seen enough naked women in his lifetime and didn't feel particularly interested in her own nude form. Hikaru liked the former better.

Of course, as always, she found she didn't notice her nudity after a while and so could focus on other things. She was squinting up at the horizon, right where the sky was beginning to form a darker shade of purple. Curious waves of white light caught her eye, very, very far up in the sky. They danced in and out of view, waved about, winking at her like light on water.

"It looks like," she began to say, bewildered. She turned to Lantis. "Aurora Borealis. That's what it looks like. You have that in your world?"

Lantis turned a puzzled look to her. "I'm sorry?"

"Look, up there," she pointed. "The lights in the sky. They get bright and grow faint on and off, but they stay in the same spot. What is that?"

Lantis looked up at the phenomenon with narrowed eyes. "I believe that is our fissure."

"Fissure?"

"Yes. The breach in the veil. I have never seen it before. Perhaps only the evening light will reflect it." He looked long and hard at the lights. Hikaru studied them as well. She found them very beautiful. In Tokyo, she'd never actually seen the Aurora Borealis, but she'd seen pictures of them. Yes, they looked very similar, flashing blue, then green, then white, then red… And only in that one small spot. Yes, this was a different phenomena entirely, yet manifested itself in a similar way.

"Perhaps that is the magic flowing out of the world," Lantis mused. "It is illuminated when it encounters another universe. Magic may react oddly to a parallel world's air." He shrugged and sat back in his chair, taking a casual sip of wine. "I wouldn't know, though. Better you consult the Master Mage on such affairs."

"The Master Mage?" Hikaru repeated. "Is he the one who is now master to Umi?" Lantis frowned at her and she said, "The blue-haired girl."

"Yes, that is he. He is old and wise and very learned in astronomical affairs."

"_Old?_ He looked to be about ten years old!"

"Appearances matter not in this world, lady." He looked almost amused. "Mage Clef is a powerful man indeed. I suspect he could transform himself into any shape he desired."

Hikaru was awed. If someone had so much power, why would they decide to look like an impotent little ten-year-old? Well, she supposed she'd never understand these Cephrans. She took to looking up at the lights again. Lantis said that the way through to the other world was high up in those clouds. It was a great tear, apparently a tear that no one had been able to fix yet. Perhaps people could move through it into the other world…

Lantis was looking at her, making her blush. "Here," he said, holding out his plate of food. "I have not much of an appetite. Please, help yourself." He also motioned for a servant to bring more wine. Hikaru gingerly plucked a sprig of grapes and a small cube of cheese from the plate. She didn't want to eat either, but she felt her stomach growling viciously at her and so decided to oblige it. Oh, yes, she was hungry all right. She placed a hand on her forehead, feeling slightly dizzy. If only there were some meats to eat.

"Hikaru," Lantis said, meeting her gaze once again. "I enjoy your company immensely. If it's not too forward of me, I request that you tolerate mine a bit longer."

"Mm." Hikaru paused with half-chewed cheese in her mouth. "Um… well, I don't mind, really…"

He nodded curtly. "I will not participate in the festivals this year. Later tonight, as the moon rises, they will dance around the fires. But, rather than join them, I'd prefer to watch. It's a lovely evening. The air is warm and the breeze is soft. A fine night for a festival." He looked contented; at peace. "Yes. I believe I'll retire early as well. Of course, I'd like for you to join me."

Hikaru bit her tongue and yelped in pain. Lantis rose to pat her on the back. "I--!" she spat, trying to compose herself. Ah, her tongue hurt! And she tasted blood now… just wonderful… "You want me to sleep with you," she managed to gasp.

"To sleep," he reiterated, "Yes. Unless you'd prefer the Slave Hall."

"No!"

"I thought not. I would like your company as I rest tonight. I'll make no move to defile you, I swear to that." He looked away from her. "I… assume you are untouched. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Well… as you should be. You'll remain that way this night. Have no fear. I only ask that you lay beside me, as a lover would, for I long that kind of touch." He sighed. "Warm flesh next to mine is something I've felt all too little these past years."

Hikaru wondered how old he was. Short-man Clef was very old from the way Lantis hinted, but what about Lantis himself? He looked to be a young man. No boy, of course… certainly in his late twenties or early thirties. He _looked_ that way, anyway. Well, he wanted her company for the night. Who was she to say no? After all the time spent in the slave hall, being ignored by him, she supposed she should relish what time she was allowed with him. Better to play it meek, or even seductive. She should make him _want_ her around.

"Prince Lantis," she sighed after a time. "I'm sorry you've been lonely. I'll do my best to make you happy tonight."

He nodded at her. "Your presence is surprisingly soothing. Though I don't know you well, I feel at ease around you. Perhaps it's this festive atmosphere as well."

Hikaru made a show of flipping her unruly locks over her shoulder to halfway reveal her naked bosom. "You know, I've never actually slept in a bed with a man. I hardly know what I should do." She shrugged. "I expect you'll want me to remain nude."

"As always," he began, "That is your decision. I've not forced you to be unclothed."

She paused. It was true. He only _requested_ it, but she could have refused. Oh well. She'd gotten used to the nudity. "Well, Highness, I'll clad myself however you'd like me to. Or _unclad_ myself," she added with a soft grin.

He was looking at her hair now. It was falling thick over her shoulders, and, windblown as it was, it also caught the last few dying rays of the sun, gleaming around her face like fire. She cast her eyes down to allow her long lashes to rest across her cheeks. The plate of fruit and cheese was at her feet. "Highness," she said again. "I am cold. Please—" She rose and gingerly stepped into Lantis' lap, curling her legs against his chest. He looked surprised. As he should have.

_This is so bad … I can't believe I'm doing this. But I can't bear the thought of being sent back to the Slave Hall…_ She hid a shameful grin against his shirt at the thought, remarking that the Prince really was quite warm. Also, his armor was gone, allowing her the feeling of his actual flesh.

She leaned down to pick u the barely touched plate of food. "Hungry?" she asked innocently. She plucked a grape from the tray after setting it in her lap and popped it into her mouth. She chewed slowly and thought, _Oh, I should have done that differently. I should eat like a lady…_

Lantis was watching her warily. He seemed neither impressed nor repulsed by her actions. He was waiting to see what would happen next. Well, so was she, in a way. He allowed her small arms to curl around his neck. She was pressed into him, with her face against his shoulder, purring contentedly like a kitten. After a time, Lantis took to watching the field again and absently plucked bits of fruit and cheese off of the plate in Hikaru's lap. She seized his hand and held it fast in her own. It was daring, such a daring move, but why not? She smiled up at him and, with her free hand, picked up a cube of cheese. His face resumed that indecisive look again, that unreadable look that she just couldn't decipher. Was he about to throw her over the balcony?

But no, he was intrigued. His eyes, dark and formidable as they were, held hers fervently. She placed the cube of cheese against his parted lips, and to her relief, he opened his mouth and allowed her to feed him. He pulled her farther up into his lap and leaned back with her, closing his mouth around her fingers. If she closed her eyes, she remembered the smell of flowers, and felt warm grass on her face. Yes, it felt very nearly like it had with Eagle.

He watched her avidly, tasted her fingers as they slid out of his mouth to glean another grape from the tray. To her delight, his interest was not in the food. He allowed her feeding, pulling her closer against him, letting her feel his warmth. Actually, he was very warm. Nearly hot. Hikaru felt her whole body was hot. Surely her face was shining red as a beacon, watching his lips close around her fingertips. Ah, his mouth was hot…

She could feel his hand against her thigh. It had always been there, supporting her tiny frame against his chest, but now she noticed it burning there like a brand. What was she doing? What a foolhardy endeavor, acting the careless woman with this strange man!

No matter. She threw her sensibilities to the wind for the time being. Her mind was becoming murky and slow, anyway… perhaps it was the strong smell of the ritual fires below, or Lantis' warm, warm shoulders. He sat fully back know, nearly lying vertical, with her face close to his. He kissed her nose tentatively, and she noticed his lips trembled slightly. She closed her eyes and turned her cheek to be kissed. _Don't be nervous,_ she wanted to tell him. _Just… care for me deeply, and I'll do the same._

His lips on her brow were still so hot. It made her almost dizzy. How could someone possibly be so warm? It seemed to her that he radiated heat. Eagle hadn't been nearly so warm. Lantis was a veritable _furnace._ She felt she might swoon. With her hand trapped in his and his thumb smoothing the lengths of her slender fingers, Hikaru was sure she would faint. His mouth found her fingers again and she sighed heavily.

"Come my girl," he said suddenly, kissing her soft hair. "You must not fall asleep here. Come to bed with me. Come, beloved."

* * *

Umi awoke with a start. Darkness, darkness all around. And cold! Where was she? Oh, the dream had been horrible. She'd been stripped and placed on a plate for all to see. She was to be sacrificed! Naked and buttered and cooked and eaten, all to be sacrificed to the Gods!

"Ohh," she moaned, clutching at her naked bosom. "No, no…" It was so dark, why was it so dark? The cold!

A hand found hers in the dark and she cried out in fear.

"No," said a voice, "No, be still."

The hand took her arm and pulled her down. Her face was buried in pillows, soft pillows. A bed. Yes, she was in a bed. But not _his _bed. This couldn't be the same room. She opened her eyes and saw the open balcony doors, the softly fluttering curtains, the sliver of moon in the sky.

"Umi," said the man, pulling her face to his and pressing kisses to her cheeks and eyes. "Be still, be still, my beauty!" The voice, that gentle voice…

She began to weep. "I never woke up. I never woke up! This is a nightmare, too!"

"Hush," he whispered, pulling her closer to him. She allowed it. There was no use fighting it. The arms around her were strong, strong and large… She was so confused, surely these wasn't Clef's arms she was in. She'd woken up permeated by a smell, a masculine smell. Clef's smell? She couldn't be sure, had never been so close to him. She remembered feeling hair on her face as she slept. It was soft, like hers, and his skin was smooth… warm against the cold of the castle rooms.

She shivered against him. "Save me," she whispered.

He said nothing, only touched her gently here and there to soothe her back to sleep. No, certainly not Clef, who never used such gentle words. Warm breath ghosted over her forehead as she fell back into her dark, fitful sleep full of monsters with reaching hands…

When she opened her eyes again, she was curled beneath a fine fur blanket. The room was bright, adorned with gleaming blue and gold wallpaper. It was no longer chilly in the room and after a time, Umi found herself sweating. She rolled over and reached out to touch the man who'd been sleeping with her. But none was there. That side of the bed was untouched. Even the pillow bore no mark of a head having rested upon it.

She rubbed her eyes. Another bad dream? She certainly did not welcome the unknown company, after all. What time was it, anyway?

She sat up and, as she did, the door to the room opened. A tall, dark haired young man walked in. Her Page, who she'd only seen once or twice before. "I've come to groom you," he said tiredly. "The King and Queen want you for their own sport today."

Umi's jaw dropped. "Sport?! What--"

"Come quietly, please," he said. "I haven't much time to prepare you." He moved forward and Umi clutched the fur blankets in fear.

"No!'

When her Page left the doorway, she saw a small, familiar form standing there. Clef eyed her sharply.

"You!" she gasped. "What's going on here? What am I doing in _this_ room? This isn't your room, what happened last night?" She clutched her face, groaning. "I don't even remember…"

Clef leaned against the doorway and continued to look reproachfully at her. "No, you wouldn't, would you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He crossed his arms and sighed. "You were loud and unruly last night. I grew weary of you, so I had you drugged and brought in here."

"What!"

Clef narrowed his eyes. "You refused to behave, and I punished you. See that you behave today, or it will be the lash for you."

"Oh, but you didn't hesitate to crawl back into bed with me and spend the night in here, did you?"

He scowled at her. "I didn't sleep last night."

Umi began to tremble. "You mean you weren't…" He only continued to glower at her as she drew the blankets around her shivering frame. Had the man in the night been a dream? As she studied his face, she began to see the signs of fatigue that marked his features. Dark heavy lids and red eyes. He hadn't slept at all the night before! "Well then what were you doing?"

"That's none of _your_ concern."

Angry tears welled in her eyes as the Page attempted to remove her from the bed. The blanket fell away, revealing her nakedness, and she began to cry. She couldn't struggle… was far too humiliated to do so.

The Page carried her from the room, and as he passed the doorway occupied by Clef, her hand was briefly caught by his. The fleeting look he gave her was strange; unreadable. She snatched her hand away and hid her face against the Page's chest, sobbing quietly.

"Hush now," said her Page as he patted her hair. "Keep that pretty face of yours looking nice for the King and Queen. Come now, dry your eyes. You'll be doing something very special today."

Umi rubbed her nose and hiccupped. "What do you mean? Where are we going?"

"I will freshen you up a bit before I bring you into the Grand Hall. There's a large banquet being held in a few hours. You're to participate."

By participate, Umi doubted seriously that he meant she'd be eating. She paled and pressed her cheek to his fine, velvet doublet. Surely she wouldn't be made to serve the lords and ladies. If she did, she was certain they'd order her to do it unclothed. She felt her skin grow hot; she was still naked, had in fact not been dressed in days. It hadn't bothered her until that very moment.

* * *

Hikaru kept a watchful eye on the horizon all night. She could see, through Lantis' open window, the curve of the hills, the dark ribbon of black sky beyond them, dotted with pale stars. She had studied those stars for quite some time. They didn't twinkle as brightly as they did on Earth. They seemed dull, flat, without life. Like holes poked in the thick, blanket of a sky with a sharp object. And no moon. Perhaps the moon was in its dark phase, but as of yet, she'd seen no moon in that world.

Lantis held her close in the crook of her arm. As he slept, his grip had tightened, and now her face was pressed flush against the soft cotton of his shirt.

Surreal. Yes, that's what the whole situation was. Days ago she'd been stolen from her happy field trip and brought to this strange world. Now, she was tucked into the arms of the man she'd been pledged to. And while she lay there in that luxurious bed, swallowed by the infinite blankets and soft pillows, she thought of the pale-haired man and his warm, amber eyes. How he desired her, and, at the time, she'd wanted him as well. But now her dark, stoic man had her, and she found herself questioning her motives. Lantis had ignored her for days, this was true, but now… Well, he'd been so kind to her that night. He'd cared for her and treated her as a person and not as a slave. And out on the balcony… God, what had come over her? His lips had been so hot against hers…

So, she didn't sleep a wink that night. All she could do was look at the curve of his face, illuminated by the soft glow of torchlight from the balcony. He looked just as stoic in his sleep, just as much like a marble statue of some Greek god. Only the soft rising and falling of his chest betrayed his mortal life.

She closed her eyes and thought of her home. The braided tatami of the kendo rooms, the smell of wood and student's sweat, the laughter of her brothers…

No longer did those things surround her. Only the cold stone floors and wide beds, the zing of the lashes and the stiff astringency of the noble men and women around her. But this world had its own beauty, after all. The hills were nothing but an eternity of rolling, green grass. The mountains in the distance were also quite beautiful. The sun seemed to shine very softly in that land as well. And there were so many interesting things to look at! Mountains floated in the sky, the sea sparkled from leagues away and, far in the distance, Hikaru thought she'd spotted the inky smoke of a volcano.

She sighed. Her situation haunted her, keeping her from enjoying the beauty around her. If her man woke up, he may try to have his way with her. There would be pain. She would not enjoy it. She was a virgin… there'd be blood. And pain. The man was five times bigger than her, for God's sake.

As she thought her unending string of thoughts, she watched the horizon, waiting for the faint signs of blue that would bring the sun.

Lantis stirred. He rolled over, dragging her small body over his. Now she nearly straddled the man, who still remained in a deep sleep. Hikaru's face burned hotly, naked and exposed as she was over this massive man. He'd decided to remain clothed but insisted upon her nakedness. He was said it was only proper slave etiquette. Despite her wanton behavior hours before, and despite what had happened with Eagle, she'd never even so much as kissed a boy, and now her breasts and womanly parts were naked and bare for all to see.

A terrible feeling, waiting for the sun. For, though it would mean freedom from this bed, it also held unknown horrors of the day to come. And something within her told her that this day would be a long, arduous one, indeed.


	6. Chapter 6

**CAPTIVE AND CAPTIVATED**

**Chapter 6**

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* * *

  
**

When she was brought to the Slave Hall, she was given a long bath. The tub was filled with rose-colored, scented water. Her Page took his time with her, combing out her long hair and sponging her skin. She sat placidly in the tub, staring ahead at nothing in particular. She could hear the soft sighs and crying noises from a few of the slaves around her. When she broke from her daze, she took to studying the rest of them. A few had moist faces, with eyes red-rimmed from crying. But many more seemed to be at peace with their surroundings. A young male slave was lying back in his tub, allowing his Page to wash his legs. His eyes were closed, and Umi soon realized that the slave had fallen asleep that way. The girl closest to Umi had long, curly, pale hair. She was whispering quietly to her groom, looking about at the other slaves with a peaceful look on her face. She was rounder than Umi, with wider hips and a much fuller bosom. Her face was heart-shaped, like Hikaru's, but her eyes were a brilliant violet color, and when she met Umi's gaze for a brief moment, she smiled and looked away. Yes, she was a beautiful girl. Umi looked back at the sleeping boy and studied his face, realizing that he, too, was very good-looking. Extraordinarily so, in fact. Every face in the room was beautiful; no ugly or plain slaves were to be seen.

_Well naturally,_ she thought. _What would anyone do with a homely pleasure slave?_

When Umi turned to scan the rest of the room, she nearly jumped up in shock when she saw that the blonde girl, Fuu, was seated in the tub right next to her. Her hair was being combed by her own Page. Umi sat up a little straighter. She hadn't seen the other two in days. She studied Fuu's face for signs of abuse. There were none. If anything, Fuu only looked a little tired. Umi found herself coloring a little. _What have she and that Prince of hers been up to?_

Fuu's eyes were closed. She seemed to be relaxing into her Page's ministrations. Umi debated on whether or not to whisper to her. After a moment, she realized Fuu was naked as well. She hadn't even noticed. It was as if she was blind to all the nudity, what with the dozens of naked slaves surrounding her. Umi had the decency to blush and look away, but not before getting a good look at Fuu. She was almost a little jealous. Fuu was naturally curvier than either she or Hikaru, with fuller breasts. She looked more… womanly in general. Her hair was like fine-spun gold. Umi tried hard to remember but find she couldn't identify what color Fuu's eyes were. Not until she opened them, at least. Well. It was no wonder the Prince himself had chosen Fuu. She was gorgeous.

"_Fuu,"_ she whispered. Her Page tugged gently on her hair and gave her a stern look. But she leaned over anyway and looked at Fuu. The blonde had opened her eyes now and looked equally shocked to see that she'd been sitting right next to her Earth friend for nearly ten minutes. They couldn't speak to one another, but their eyes mirrored the same sentiment. _We are trapped._

"Umi?" Fuu mouthed.

The bluette nodded.

Fuu moved her lips again. "_Show," _was what she said.

Umi gave the slightest of nods. "_Banquet."_

Fuu nodded and sighed, leaning back against her Page. Her face was lined with fatigue. Umi decided to attempt to speak to Fuu later, when they were away from their masters. She looked around the room again, hoping to spot the red haired girl. There was no sign of her yet, but surely she'd be brought in soon if all three of them were to be… featured as _spectacles_ at this horrid banquet.

Later, Umi was pulled out of the tub and dried roughly. Her hair was slicked back into a low ponytail spilled over one shoulder. Fuu's Page had left her hair down. His patient brushing had left it smooth and straight, rather than wavy, and it flowed down her back. Soon afterward, they were rubbed down with a sweet-smelling oil that illuminated their flesh in subtle gold tones. When they were led out of the room, Fuu protested.

"Wait, no! Surely you mean to dress us?"

Her Page gave her a soft slap to her buttocks and she squeaked. "You are slaves. Unless the occasion calls for light clothing, you will nearly always be left nude."

Fuu whimpered and crossed her arms over her chest. "How horrid! Please, don't parade me around like this!"

"Be silent."

Umi walked behind the pair, trying to cower against her own Page. "She's right," she moaned. "I mean, it's one thing to be naked in front of our… _masters…_ but this…"

Her Page shook his head. "It is castle etiquette. All slaves go about naked most of the time. It's by order of the Queen herself." He took Umi's hand and pulled it behind her. "Clasp your hands behind you like this. Yes, there, in the small of your back. It pushes out your breasts." He looked ahead of him. "You should have your girl do the same, Geoffrey. It will please the Queen."

_Geoffrey_, Fuu remarked inwardly. _I never thought to ask him his name._

Umi looked up at her Page. "What is _your_ name?" she asked quietly.

"Ian," he replied without looking at her.

"Is Hikaru joining us?" she asked. "You know, the little red-haired girl?"

"Yes, of course," he replied. "You're the honored guests."

Umi scoffed. _Guests. _Right.

* * *

Fuu shrieked when she was pushed through the doors. All around her were bound slaves. It seemed that they were all standing in twisted positions, but upon closer inspection, she saw that each naked slave had been bound with rope to statues in various poses. They were meant to mimic the marble figures to which they were tied. And there were so _many_ statues… easily thirty. In the center of the hall, for all to see, were three lonely statues. Hikaru was bound to one, Umi to another, and a third was blank with no attached slave. She didn't need to guess who it was for.

They were pulling her forward, and she found herself trying to struggle out of their grasp. It was futile, though; both men who held her were large and could easily sling her over a shoulder. She approached the three statues and saw the people crowded around them. She could hardly see Hikaru, only a mop of her fiery hair.

_Oh, God,_ she thought. Eyes followed her as she grew closer to the crowd. Her bare statue was of a naked woman, bent slightly at the waist, looking as if she were retrieving flowers from a field. Small, silvery cords hung loosely around the arms and legs of the statue.

"Come," Geoffrey whispered. "Be not afraid. You'll be bare and on display, but none will harm you."

Fuu strained her neck to catch a glimpse of Umi. She was strapped to a statue of another woman who had her hands above her head, almost as if she were dancing. Umi's eyes were closed; her lips moved in a silent, frantic mantra. Hands explored her body, sliding over her hips, pinching her cheeks, cupping her pert breasts. Hikaru, too, had her eyes closed. She seemed almost in a faint, hung limply on a statue of a woman with crossed arms and crossed legs.

She bit her lip as she was placed with her back flush against the cold marble of her statue. Her wrists were tied to the stone girl's, and her ankles to the feet below her. It was an uncomfortable pose. Her weight strained against the ropes. She was instructed to hold herself so that she mirrored the statue precisely, with a bent waist, an upturned chin and one hand splayed out towards the ground. Her breasts hung at an awkward angle and soon began to ache. Also, her sex was pressed hard against the cold marble of the flower-picking girl. The sensation caused her to shiver.

People soon blocked her view of the rest of the expansive room. She thought she'd seen a very long row of tables lining the walls when she'd been walked in. Many, many seats had been set up there. And the smell of food was almost overwhelming. Soon, people would be feasting. That was something of a relief to Fuu; at least then they'd leave her alone.

If she strained her neck a bit, she could see the pale, trembling feet of Umi. Try as she might, though, she could see no higher than her knees. All three girls had been placed just far enough apart so as not to be able to touch. Damn. It was absolutely horrid!

_Be calm,_ Fuu forced herself to think. _You never made it through any trial by fretting. Be calm._ She closed her eyes and slowed her breathing. Yes, the castle air was cold, and she was naked. The marble statue was quite cold as well. And the ropes, though they were made of silk, were beginning to pain her. And yes, she felt absolutely exposed. But, if she closed her eyes, she couldn't see the groping hands around her or the endless rows of tables draped with dark cloths. She could only hear the pleasant mutterings of the gentlemen and the soft, almost musical chorus of the conversing women around her. She could tune that out easily enough, if she just concentrated on her breathing…

After a moment or two, she paid no heed to the hands touching her. She supposed she might be punished for squeezing her pretty eyes shut, but no matter. The talking and laughter turned into a dull murmur. Only the vague smell of baking bread and roasted meat, and perhaps the coolness of the floor beneath her feet invaded her senses.

But soon, she heard his voice, and her eyes snapped open. The Prince's voice! It had come and gone. A casual greeting. She strained to hear it again and didn't. _Finally he decides to show his face to me!_ She thought, scandalized. She craned her neck to catch a glimpse of the tables, but all she saw was the back of somebody's robes. Instead, she tried to peer around Umi's calf. She could see the corner of one of the tables, but the only people sat there were finely dressed ladies. A moment later, Fuu heard his voice again, this time much more distinct. She swiveled her head to look to her left.

"—really enjoyed your lovely wares at the festival!" she heard him say. Or, she thought he said it. Then she bit her lip and thought, _That may not even be him. I only heard his voice a very few times…_

Someone laid a hand on her hair and she tossed her head impatiently, throwing them off. Her head was immediately forced back down by her Page and she was given a few sharp cracks with a whip on her calves. Fuu gasped then bit her lip, refusing to cry out further. She was subjugated. A slave, a prisoner… she had to remember that.

But where was that elusive Prince?

After what seemed like hours, the crowd around the three girls thinned. Music began to play. An announcement was made and the meal commenced. Suddenly, horror crept upon Fuu. They were still tied to their statues. Now that the crowd was gone, she could see that the entire room was circled by tables, not just one section. The three of them were spectacles for the view of every person in there while they ate! Fuu shook violently and bent her head. _Anything but this, anything but this torture… Oh God, let us go free, please…_

Hikaru whimpered from her right. Poor girl. Her whole body was flushed a shameful red. She was fully exposed to all as well. She'd come out of her faint and was now staring around with wide, frightened eyes. Umi seemed to be staring at the ground, willing herself not to look into the eyes of the lords and ladies that surrounded them. Ah, but Fuu would. She couldn't hide her face, not when she hadn't yet spotted the Prince. Oh God, what kind of _view_ did he have of her?

She finally caught a glimpse of his bright green head far to her left. He was very nearly out of her visual field. She had to crane to see him. But yes, there he was, sitting next to his sister the Queen, amid hundreds of other finely dressed guests. His eyes were on her, of course. The Queen seemed to stare dreamily into space, and many of the lords and ladies were engrossed in their pleasant conversations. But Ferio stared at her as if he hadn't seen her in days. His expression puzzled her. He looked very nearly pained. Well, all she could do was stare back, and so she did. If Fuu could have seen herself, she would have seen that she looked quite beautiful, with brightly flushed cheeks, eyes sparkling with a kind of animal fright, and long blonde hair hanging around her cheeks. A few stray, golden coils tickled her lips.

Umi noticed this as she glanced down and to her left. She could see Fuu, could see where she was looking and could clearly see the green haired Prince—oh, what was his name?—staring right back at her. Yes, Fuu looked ripe and ready to pluck. No wonder so many had crowded around her. Umi actually felt a bit jealous. Many more had touched and petted Fuu than they had Umi.

The bluette shifted her weight on her feet and sighed. Her arms above her head were beginning to cramp a bit, and she was certainly beginning to hate the artist who carved her statue. That idiot, whoever he was, had made his art arch her back slightly, so that Umi had to mime this, with stone breasts sticking into her back and her own breasts jutting out. She refused to look to her right. Clef was sitting there, swirling a finger around in his glass of wine and looking at her fondly. Or, at least he probably thought it was a fond look. On his cynical face, it came out more as a leer. She deliberately looked away for fear that continued eye contact with him would cause her to slip back under his spell again. Plus, she was still mad at him for the night before. What an _ass._ She closed her eyes and sighed.

"No," she heard the Queen say from behind her. Umi's eyes snapped back open. "Pages, assist your slaves. I want their chins high and their lovely eyes wide open! Yes, make sure they look into the eyes of their masters! Go on, now!"

Umi's fists clenched above her head. Everyone was now staring at her. Ian walked slowly behind her and pulled her head back against the statue to that her chin was high. "See that you stay this way," he whispered, "Or I will be ordered to bind your head."

Umi gulped and nodded slightly. She had to concentrate, had to make sure she wouldn't let herself slump. Ian gave her a few slaps to the buttocks so that she would straighten her posture.

"Much better!" the Queen sighed. "Ladies and gentlemen, do you not love our newest additions to the slave population! These beauties came from the other world but a few days ago!"

To her horror, laughter, cheering and applause erupted from the tables surrounding her. Umi blanched and looked to Clef, whose face remained passive. He glanced over in the Queen's direction and then back at Umi to give her a slight nod.

"Clef!" Umi hissed, clenching her fists again and baring her teeth at him. He made her absolutely _furious!_ Couldn't he do _anything_ about her horrible position! Surely he could ask the Queen to retire early and take her with him! Or, he could request she be spared the torment! Hell, he was the _Master Mage of Cephiro._ But he was enjoying letting her hang there. Oh yes, he certainly was. She felt as if she could smash his face in.

She struggled against her ropes and glared nastily at him, which only caused him to chuckle softly.

Meanwhile, Hikaru was busy trembling and trying to hide her face against her long hair. But, her Page had fixed her head straight forward and wouldn't let her move it. He told her it'd be the lash for her if she moved again. She was petrified and ashamed because she'd spotted Eagle somewhere in that crowd. It was humiliating… naked and so exposed, and in front of him! She wasn't sure whether or not Lantis was there. Big public things didn't seem to be to his liking. She'd noticed, after her small bit of time with him, that he seemed to be a bit antisocial. Well, that was fine. She had mixed feelings about seeing him, anyway.

Hikaru tossed her hair and did her best to compose herself. She found that, if she stared at a spot on the wall above everyone's heads, she felt a little better. She kept her chin high and tried to think of other things. Hikari. Yes, she loved her Hikari. Perhaps her brothers, the dojo, the wooden floors and the sharp slap of the kendo swords… School bells, the swish of her uniform skirt, her mother cooking, Lantis' lips around her finger…

She startled and stood up straighter. How did _that_ thought get in there? She pictured his mouth again and shuddered slightly. She was too ashamed to admit that she enjoyed it. Hikaru felt like she'd been so wanton, being intimate with two men in one day. And enjoying _both_ men quite thoroughly, she reminded herself. She very nearly began to sweat thinking about Lantis hot skin beneath hers all night, and she also went rather weak in the knees when she thought of Eagle pressing soft kisses to her cheeks and forehead.

Oh no, she was far too young and inexperienced to be comparing men…

"Oh, tisk," Emeraude called from across the room. "Such trouble they have in keeping their posture. I'd say a good whipping is in order!"

Before Hikaru could gasp in outrage, she was grabbed from behind and quickly released from her ropes. She shrieked and was hauled over someone's shoulder like a sack of rice.

"Don't raise your voice," her Page muttered. "It's only a light whipping with the rod, and it's only for amusement. They'll be done with you shortly." He nodded in Umi's direction. "Be loud like that one, though, and they'll likely suspend you by your ankles and leave you that way."

To her right, Fuu was being dragged over to a low stool. Umi was quiet, for once, but she still seemed stiff and uncooperative. No matter. They'd beat that out of her.

"The smallest one first!" the Queen called. Her face was alight with glee. "Yes, the little rouge one. Get a stool for her!"

"No!" Hikaru gasped. "Please don't!"

Her pleas ignored, she was bent over a cushioned stool with her rear forced up into the air. Her knees were crammed uncomfortably into the floor. Almost immediately, a lash licked her calf. She cried out. "Stop!"

"Don't dare protest!" said the guard. "Your punishment will be worse!"

"Punishment for _what!?"_ She shrieked again as the lash found the back of her thigh. Her hands were forced behind her back and more lashes were delivered to her buttocks. Hikaru sobbed loudly, twisting her head from side to side. _I didn't do anything! Nothing! This is all for HER amusement!_ She cried out again under the sting of the lash and cast her eyes around desperately her Prince. He was nowhere to be found! Then again, she could hardly see anyway, eyes blurred with tears as they were… A second whip was taken to her, reddening the backs of her thighs well. She squealed and cried, trying to scoot out of the whip's way. It found her anyway. The cheers and applause from the crowd around her made it all the worse, and she cried louder and louder.

She could hear Fuu's pained cries from her right. She did not hear Umi, though. She certainly heard the whips against her buttocks. Perhaps she was being strong and silent out of spite. It seemed to be Umi's way, at times.

Oh, where was Lantis!

Hikaru quickly fell into a faint. When she came out of it, she was hanging over someone's shoulder again. She could hear the Queen speaking in the background. She heard her name…

"Yes," the Queen was saying. "Seek out Prince Lantis and ask him to allow me her company tonight." She turned and saw the Queen's beautiful, smiling face. "Yes, I want this pretty little one all to myself tonight." Her hand found Hikaru's cheek and stroked it lovingly. "Oh, my brave little one. You held up well under the lash. I do love you so… I shall see _you_ tonight."

The next thing she knew, she would wake up lying in the Queen's bed. But that wouldn't be for several more hours, yet, for Hikaru slipped into another dead faint.

* * *

Finally, Fuu's whipping ceased and she collapsed over her stool. She sobbed quietly, hiding her face, too ashamed to look up. Queen Emeraude's gentle voice did not soothe her this time.

"Come on," said a familiar voice. Fuu wept and held out her arms for Ferio to pick her up. "Everyone's heading outside for a garden party," he said quietly. "I won't make you go. You can come with me, if you'd like."

She nodded and allowed him to scoop her up and carry her out of the hall. She wouldn't speak to him, only buried her wet face in his robes and sniffled.

"No, no tears my love," he crooned. "I love you so. I adore you. Come away with me. We'll not join in the festivities this night."

"Pretty lies!" she snapped. She didn't care whether or not he planned to ravage her again. As long as she could lie somewhere in quiet, Fuu didn't care what happened to her body. Her thighs smarted and she cried. "Leave me alone…"

"I can't do that any longer. I've been so caught up in the palace affairs… no, I'll leave you alone no longer." He kissed her face and lips, all wet from tears. "I've missed you terribly!" She only scoffed. "I'll tend to your welts upstairs. I'm sorry you're hurting. Oh, Fuu, cry no more. Come, love…"

"Enough of your false flattery!" she wept. "You do _not_ love me! You only wish to claim my maidenhood! I'm no fool, Ferio! I don't want to be told I'm loved unless it's absolutely genuine!"

Ferio closed his mouth and looked saddened. He walked in silence, letting his girl cry softly into his robes.

* * *

When her whipping ceased, Umi finally allowed herself to dissolve into quiet crying. She sank onto the floor next to her stool, glad that her attendants had left her alone. From the sound of moving feet and hurried conversation, she sensed that most people were making ready to leave the room.

Clef rose from his seat and walked to where Umi sat weeping on the floor. People walked past her, generally ignoring her but every once in a while giving her a pat on the head, like she was a well-behaved dog. Umi saw him coming and turned her face away. He stood in front of her, just looking at her for a while, before he finally held his hand out to her and said, "Get up." She brushed his hand away but he persisted. "Come on, girl. Up you get. You may accompany me to the party."

Umi shook her head violently and put her face in her hands. "I don't want to go! Please don't make me go! I want to be alone!"

Clef shrugged. "We won't be too sociable, I promise you that. But I want to go and enjoy the evening air and the lit pathways of the gardens. Fairies flit about at night in this season as well. You'll like to see those. They're quite lovely."

Umi only shrugged weakly and continued to sob. Giving a loud sigh, Clef sank to one knee and took the hem of his robes in his hand, gingerly blotting away the tears from Umi's face. "These are unbecoming, you know. A beautiful slave must not weep."

"I don't care," she whined. "I just want to be left alone!"

"Ah, but I cannot do that. I am not like Prince Ferio, slinking off into the shadows with his pleasure slave under his arm. I must show my face to the royalty of this land, you know. It's expected. The young Prince is too naive to know that. He thinks only of his bedroom and his golden-haired slave."

"Her name is Fuu," Umi said waspishly.

Clef nodded. He took her chin in his hand and turned her face to blot the tears from the other cheek. "There now. Enough of your crying."

She jerked her chin away. "Don't be so sweet to me now after _drugging me_ last night, Clef! I don't like your insincerity!"

His face darkened. "Who said I was being insincere?"

"Ha!" she laughed into his face. "Don't try to play dumb with me. Can't you ever be _really_ nice to me? Even every once in a while?"

"I _am_ being nice to you!" he thundered. "Every bone in my body is sincere, little girl! I shall be kind to you if you would be kind to me first!"

"Fine!" she spat.

"Fine!"

They stared awkwardly at one another for several silent moments. Was that some kind of strange truce? Umi blinked up at him, wondering whether or not he really _was _sincere. Finally, Clef held out his hand. "Come with me, girl."

She followed him dumbly through the gardens. She heard him greet his fellow lords, saw the hems of the ladies skirts sail past her feet, but she didn't look up. Didn't care to. Her backside stung and she felt it must be so very red and swollen with welts… ah, her thighs stung, as well. Though she felt she hated him, she very much hoped that Clef would take that salve to her again later…

Finally, Clef stopped in a quiet corner of the garden and allowed her to sit in the grass. She opted to stand instead, not wanting to let her smarting thighs and buttocks touch the harsh blades. They were near a wall, next to a fountain. True to Clef's word, Umi could see bright points of light dancing about. Fairies. If she were in a more cheerful mood, she might enjoy them. She looked past the fountain at the rest of the party. Most people were gathered near the hedges or sitting on poufs lay in the grass. They paid Clef and Umi no mind.

_Very nice,_ Umi found herself thinking. _He won't sneak me away like Prince Ferio, but he certainly doesn't have a problem with taking me to some dark, obscure little corner of this party…_

"I feel you must hate me," Clef said after a time.

Umi looked at him cautiously. "What makes you say that?"

He was looking fixedly at the bushes next to them. At first he did not reply, but after a moment he said, "I—you've made me very proud today. You did well."

She closed her mouth and glared at him. How she longed to say, "Oh _thanks,_ jerk." Instead, she said, "Of course I did." He laid a hand on her sore thigh and she gasped, stepping away. "Please, it hurts me."

He turned pale eyes on her. Eyes a very similar color to hers, she remarked. "Umi, do you know how long it's been since I last took a pleasure slave for myself?" She shook her head. "It's been quite some time. If I were to reckon the years, I'd say they'd at least amount to thirty or forty."

"_Forty years?"_ she hissed.

"Something like that. Although, it could very well be longer." He scratched his chin. "It's difficult to remember, sometimes." He took a moment to look very weary. "I've lived entirely too long."

"Then, why did you take me?" she asked quietly. She took to studying the same bush he studied. Why did they find one another's presences awkward now?

He chuckled softly. "Well, my first guess would be because you're beautiful, but there have been many beautiful young girls thrown my way."

"So…?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. My last love slave was like many others; unable to capture my heart. I do look for that in a young girl, you know. I do not seek to love, but I like the _possibility_ of love, and if I find I cannot have it, I will discard the girl."

"I don't think I understand," Umi said.

Clef only shrugged again. "Or perhaps it's that I _do_ seek to love. That's one thing I cannot do, though… not in this land." He looked at her. "Umi, you really were very beautiful today. Very noble-looking. The other two girls look like frightened lambs, but you…" His hand sought hers. "Your chin was high. And you looked proud. I commend you for that. I think you very beautiful, you know."

She sighed, weary and unwilling to resist him. "I know you do."

His hand turned over in hers and, when she looked at it, it glowed a soft lavender. "Are you in pain?" he asked quietly. His voice had taken on that cool, husky tone again. She found it agreeable.

"I am, a little."

He pulled her down to her knees and splayed his fingers out, smiling as they slicked over with wet, lavender light. Medicine. He pressed against her and reached around her, smoothing her aching welts with his hands. She moaned and leaned into him. "Thank you."

"No, thank you," he breathed. "Your show for me today was magnificent. I'm sorry it caused you pain, but it quickened my heart for you. You are a pearl among swine, lady. I do believe I adore you." He slipped his hands behind her head and crushed her against him. His strength was surprising for one so small. "Kiss me," he said, "And mean it."

Umi nearly mewled against his mouth, for she feared him pushing her against the hedges and further scratching her backside, but there was no pain, and when she felt herself, she found she was healed. His hands had healed her again. Now, they were holding her face to his. And yes, his mouth, as always, was soft, and this time he didn't need to be forceful, for she found herself accepting his kiss.

"You really desire me, don't you?" she whispered, eyes closed.

"Of course."

The answer didn't surprise her. She kept her eyes closed, feeling his mouth traveling over her cheeks and nose, his hands twisting her head this way and that. "Do you love me?"

He paused only briefly. With his mouth next to her ear, he said, "It wouldn't matter, if I did."

She wept again. All Clef could do was continue to cradle her face against his. He pressed into her, supporting her weight so that she could lean against him and cry. Maybe a good cry was what she needed, even if it was with the man she both loved and hated.

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

**CAPTIVE AND CAPTIVATED**

**Chapter Seven**

When she awoke, Hikaru was lying between large, lush pillows, remarking at the way the jeweled surface of the comforter below her scratched at her naked skin. A swift intake of breath, and she was up on her hands, peering into the darkness of the room. It seemed vast. Her eyes, accustomed to the light as they had been in the few minutes that she's been in there, (or had it been hours? She couldn't tell...) were unable to pierce the deep gloom. A small fire was lit in the corner. It cast long shadows that licked the ornate tapestries hanging on the wall. The carpets, which would have been a pleasant mauve in daylight, were now a forbidding blood color.

She curled back into the pillow and shook. Hadn't she just been brought in here? It must have been only a few minutes ago. After the long day in the hall, (she didn't want to say the "show," for she would surely go mad) she'd been taken roughly and escorted to the Queen's bedchambers. And there, she waited. In the silence, she dozed fitfully. It couldn't have been longer than half an hour at most, surely no longer than that...

A slight chill crept over her and she searched blindly for a blanket. Nothing; only those monstrous pillows. Whether it was from the cold in the room or from the terrible memories of that day's events that were trying to slowly creep their way back into her mind, she began to shiver. The uncomfortable bed cover beneath her, with rough golden threads and jewels sewn onto it, felt sharp and abrasive against her red and smarting backside. Yes, there will still welts there. Ah, she'd been beaten like a schoolboy, and in front of everyone. For the Queen. And the Queen had _laughed..._

Hikaru sighed, very nearly resigned to her fate. She thought she had put up a pretty good fight against this world and its slavery. She thought that surely she would be returned to her world soon. Why wouldn't she? Hikaru was a good student, a good daughter, a superb martial artist, thank _you,_ and she was young, pretty and lighthearted. She had no reason to be punished like this. The Gods would surely see that this was a mistake and see to it that she was returned to her world, and quick. Wouldn't they?

But, in only the short week that she'd been there, she was starting to realize that no such rescue was coming. She was firmly bound, decimated and humiliated. Her defenses had been almost completely broken down. Soon, she would no longer be able to fight. Why not accept her new fate? She was a slave, a slave to _Lantis'_ pleasure. But she was in this beautiful castle, and her every need was cared for by other people...

_It's no more than a gilded prison cage,_ she thought._ My family is gone. I'm alone, save for Umi and Fuu. I'm alone._

Across the room, the door latch slipped. Hikaru cringed and thought of Lantis. She had only felt his skin once, and his lips around her fingers... She flushed hotly and listened to the soft chatter of servants entering the room. Emeraude's voice, though soft and sweet, penetrated the gloom like the servant's could not have and, though Emeraude very nearly whispered, her voice tolled like bell, making Hikaru quake with fright.

"Is my girl here?" she heard the lady whisper. Her servants clamored around her, assuring her with high-pitched, giggling whispers. Young handmaidens. Probably not that much older than Hikaru. The redhead managed a glance at one of them, poorly lit as they were.

_Here it is,_ she thought, _If I had been plain and homely like one of those girls, I would get to wear clothes and walk about with my eyes raised._

"Leave me," Emeraude said softly. Footsteps sounded from the thick carpet and soon, the heavy oak door latched behind them. Silence had taken the room once again. From a far corner, Hikaru could hear very soft humming.

Oh, stark, naked terror. Terror mixed with a curiosity that she couldn't quite understand. She was innocent, that was a fact. Though she'd spent a night lying naked next to her master, she was untouched. He had not so much placed a hand on her. So it was _certainly_ a foreign idea for her to be laying in the bed of a woman, equally naked and vulnerable. And Emeraude was not her master. Though, perhaps technically she was her "Great Mistress," in the grand scheme of things, but...

A constant mantra repeated in Hikaru's head. _I am a woman. Emeraude is a woman, too._

"Hikaru," Emeraude sighed from the corner. "Come into the light. Let me see you."

The redhead lingered as long as she dared. For a moment, she fingered the gems sewn onto the coverlet, clenched and unclenched her fists. Suddenly, she flushed a dark red. She'd been naked before Emeraude all day and had never given it a single thought, but now her close proximity, the dark, sensuous light in the room, and her complete nudity, all alone in the presence of the Queen, made her go rigid.

"Yes, Highness," she breathed.

Emeraude had her back to her as Hikaru slipped out of the bed, quiet and stealthy as a cat. Her bare feet made not a sound on the lush carpet. Hikaru covered herself with her hands, but lowered them a moment later. She would have been whipped lightly for that in different company

Emeraude was little more than a shadow. She could see her back and her long, pale hair. She could also see her face reflected in the large, extravagant mirror adorning the vanity at which the Queen sat. She was just near enough the fire to be apart from the gloom, but far enough away to still appear as if she were growing out of it. A beautiful, terrible thing being birthed by the darkness Hikaru felt smothered by.

_Oh nonsense,_ Hikaru tried to tell herself. _She's only a woman. And not even a very big one, at that._

As soon as Hikaru could see the cobalt reflection of Emeraude's eyes, however, she felt small and weak. Emeraude was a powerful woman; Hikaru need not ever forget _that._

"Ah," said Emeraude who turned slowly on Hikaru. "Look at your tired eyes. This must have been a long day for you indeed, girl. Come," she said, sitting, "Brush my hair for me, and then let's to bed." She looked pointedly at the brush resting on the vanity. Hikaru paused for only a brief moment, slightly confused, but reached out to palm its silver-handled length.

Emeraude had let her hair down. It was long, very long; it would take ages to properly comb. Perhaps that had been Emeraude's plan. Crafty young Queen.

Hikaru gingerly took a lock of golden hair into her hand and began to brush, all the while keeping her gaze set steadily on the reflective gaze of Emeraude. The Queen looked at her every once in a while, but she mostly studied her own reflection. Hikaru had to admit she was rather nervous. She didn't know much about brushing hair or other such girlish things... she'd grown up with nothing but brothers. Well, she'd just have to do her best not to tug or pull...

"Your hair," Emeraude said. Hikaru saw that their eyes were level again. "I have never seen hair that color before. It's lovely, like the petals of poppies. Do many women in your world have hair that color?" She was smiling. Her air was that of perfectly conversational casualness. Hikaru averted her gaze again. "A few, Highness, but not many."

"Then you are a rarity," Emeraude mused aloud to herself. Her smile was sweet and, though Hikaru felt overpowered by those eyes, they showed nothing but kindness. "We would have no less. Though I find my brother-in-law's men to be boorish and swaggering, they did right by picking you beauties."

"As I've been told, repeatedly," Hikaru said without thinking. She gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth.

The Queen only smiled. "I imagine that you grow weary of our ways. You have been doted on, yet you seem in turmoil. My kingdom is not to your liking?"

"You're mistaken, Highness," Hikaru said. "I think your land is beautiful. I only... am taking a longer time than I thought I'd need to get used to your ways."

"Mm." Emeraude smiled at Hikaru through the mirror. "It is a land you'll learn to love, I assure you. There's much more to Cephiro than meets the eye. You'll see that soon enough."

Hikaru merely nodded and continued to brush. She wasn't quite in the mood to make conversation with one of her captors, especially not when she was so worn and weary. She didn't _dare_ open her mouth to say what she was thinking, that she was _forced_ here and was being _forced_ to acclimate herself to their slavery and humiliating punishments. And Emeraude acted as if it were_ Hikaru_ who was inconveniencing _them_ by having a hard time adjusting to Cephiro.

"Psh," Hikaru quietly seethed.

Emeraude's cheeks glowed with pleasure. Apparently, she very much enjoyed being pampered by Hikaru. "Tell me, girl, what say you of your Master, Lantis? I know he finally called on you last night. It's been so _long_ since my brother-in-law took a woman. I'm quite curious about how your encounter went, actually."

Hikaru forced a small smile. "_Master_ Lantis allowed his second-in-command, a man by the name of Eagle, to escort me for most of the day yesterday." She conveniently neglected to mention the near-ravishment in front of the old Forge. "Lantis took care of me after that. We watched the festivals in the evening. He is... actually a rather quiet man. I feel I don't know a thing about him, even though I shared his bed."

The Queen's eyes twinkled with merriment. "But not in the sense that he desired, I take it? You seem unchanged since last I saw you. You have not been plucked yet."

"No," Hikaru said, coloring again.

"I find it strange," said Emeraude, "That Lantis would not claim you when he was given the opportunity. But then," she added with a smile, "Lantis himself is strange. He builds walls between himself and the world. He is like a book in a foreign language; impossible to understand and very little fun to try too read." She sighed. "Although, there is an air of illusion to him. He is very like his brother, my husband. Dark and pensive men they both are, but lurking beneath that is a fever, an excitement that must be sought for." She relaxed back into her chair and added, "Both of them make a big show of being perceived as what they are. I wouldn't let on that you see anything other than his cold, statuesque exterior, should you ever do so."

"Yes, Highness," Hikaru agreed, but she was far removed from the idea of Lantis. She didn't want to think about him at all. He had showed such passion for her the evening before, and then today, he allowed her to be humiliated with hardly a word. She ignored the way that the memory of her excitement had risen in her stomach, much like it had with Eagle, whenever she recalled Lantis' mouth closing around her fingertips.

_Although, I must make nice to him,_ she thought, _unless I want to spend the rest of my days in the Slave Hall. And... I'm not sure if I can handle another day with Eagle. He excited me, but I do believe that I never want to see him again._

When she looked up, Emeraude was smiling at her again. "Hang onto your man," she said. "He is a good one, and not just because he is a Prince." She rose and held out her arms. "Come, undress me, and we'll retire. You've had a long day."

Hikaru began to shake almost involuntarily. She wanted nothing to do with Emeraude's foreign, female body; nothing. The Queen's eyes reminded her of those of a snake, looking placidly at its prey before it is eventually devoured at the snake's leisure.

As befitted a Queen, Emeraude was dressed in an incredibly voluminous dress that seemed to have no end to ribbons and stays, sashes, boning and puffed sleeves. Hikaru didn't even know where to begin. Emeraude giggled. "I'd forgotten you're not from this world. I'll instruct you, then. Do you not wear dresses in your world, Miss Hikaru?"

"Oh, your Highness, you don't have to call me Miss," Hikaru began to say. She then wondered at herself. Why on Earth worrying over the Queen's informality? "I'm letting this slave stuff get to my head," she said aloud, pressing her hands to her cheeks.

Emeraude laughed again, this time more loudly. It was a lovely, gay laugh. "You must be sweet and kind and obedient, and I see that that is in your nature, so you shouldn't have much trouble!" she said. "Here, take these robes off first, yes, with those ribbons there. Next, undo the lacing along the sides. I can slip out of the sleeves myself. There, now unlace my stays, please."

Hikaru sighed. There were layers upon layers of sashes and robes to remove from Emeraude. But she set her hands to work and unwound, watching the Queen twirl like a little girl in a dress shop, as the fabric fell from her, pooling on the ground around their feet. The blonde woman shed her sleeves and pulled at ribbons that had been laced around her neck. Once the heavy clothing was shed, she stood in a thin, sheer gown. It was belted about the waste and flowed long, very long, across the carpet. Hikaru had not noticed it before. Actually, without the piles of clothing, Emeraude was nearly as slight as Hikaru herself.

"Oh," Emeraude sighed, stretching her arms. "The hour is late. Come, lovely girl, to bed. You shall rest with me tonight.

Hikaru blushed hotly again. Though her own nakedness was humiliating, somehow the sight of Emeraude's body beneath her sheer night dress was even more shameful. Small though the Queen was, she was well rounded. Her body was very much that of a woman's.

She watched Emeraude walk slowly over to the bed and nearly disappear in its quilted, pillowed depths. She heard a faint yawn. "Come, child."

The redhead feared that the Queen could hear her heart, pounding loudly as a drum in her breast, as she crawled into bed next to her. The jeweled coverlet had been removed, and the sheets beneath it were soft and soothing to her still-smarting legs. Emeraude watched her closely. "Poor darling," she said after a time. "The light is dim, but I can see how the rod has marred your lovely skin. That won't do. Tomorrow, I shall send for herbs and simples. A pleasure slave should never bear scars." Her hands passed lightly over Hikaru's thighs. "Yes, like I'd first perceived. Small, but shapely. And with such dainty little feet and hands." Her hand passed upward and moved to Hikaru's chin, which she grabbed and held straight. She was smiling again. "But a fire in those eyes such as I haven't seen in years!" she stated. "You may be a small, pretty thing, but I do believe you have the spirit of a warrior. Am I not right, girl?"

Hikaru could not completely bring herself to agree. In this world of chains and shackles, she felt that her warrior spirit had been stretched thinly indeed, if it were still there at all. Still, she nodded silently.

"And you have fine muscle tone for a woman. I take it you're physically active?"

"Yes Highness. I practice Kendo."

"Kendo?"

"It's a fighting sport. With swords. I've practiced it all my life." She managed a small chuckle. "I was raised with brothers; treated like a boy just like they were."

"Ah, but I see none of that. You have a strong femininity about you."

"Thank you."

Emeraude drew back against the pillows and studied Hikaru serenely. Now, her nudity beneath her thin nightgown was even more apparent. Hikaru colored and looked away. "It has been nearly two weeks since you've been brought here, yes?" The Queen asked. Hikaru nodded. "Two weeks, and I could see at dinner that you've already attracted the worshiping eyes of nearly every man in the kingdom. And every woman, too," she added with a smirk.

"I've never really felt beautiful," the redhead admitted weakly. "This is all very new to me. I've never really known that I could be… desired."

"Well, pity for the poor fools in your world. I imagine that when you return, you'll return a changed woman, blossomed into sensuality."

Hikaru's jaw dropped. "When I–"

"_If_ you return, I should say."

"What… What would make you think that? Highness?" she added.

Emeraude shrugged. "We do not always keep the slaves we capture. We do, of course, when the slave has captured an extra special eye. It's not uncommon for masters and mistresses to marry their adopted slaves. But in your case, I'd say that it's unlikely for you to be married. No, nor your two lovely friends. Lantis has never married and has never shown impetus to do so. Prince Ferio… well, my brother is young. He's had many women. I think he'll continue to have many more. And Mage Clef is old beyond reasoning, older even than myself or my husband. Also, he is the Master Mage. It is forbidden for one in his rank to marry."

"Why so?"

"Think of him as an ordained priest of the highest rank. They are permitted no luxuries which might cloud their vision and compromise the great responsibility endowed upon them by the Gods. Clef is of the Old Religion, and they are set in their ways."

Hikaru shook her head slowly. "I really don't know anything about this world."

"You will learn," Emeraude smiled. "For now, lay with me and talk of idle things." She pulled Hikaru down to her and slid her against the pillows. In a very motherly way, she tucked sheets and blankets beneath Hikaru's chin.

Tears welled behind the slave's eyelids. So, there was a possibility that she could be returned to her own world. But, only a slim one. Lantis was not a marrying man. He would tire of her. If he did, they'd have no use for her and would send her away, unless they had other plans for her, perhaps to make her work as a chambermaid, or to be the lover of a lesser man… She shuddered. The idea of taking a lesser man than Lantis was repulsive. Blushing virgin or no, she couldn't abide the idea of being passed off, like chattel, to some lower-ranked buffoon. If she_had_ to be pledged to a man, a Prince was as good as it got. But, speaking of men who couldn't marry…

"I hope that Ferio wouldn't dispose of Fuu," Hikaru said thoughtfully. Then she bit her lip and shied from Emeraude's touch. "If it's not too bold of me to think so…"

"_That_ I cannot say. I've seen him go through scores of women. He seems to be taken with this one, but then again, he always seems to be taken. Such a lover, my brother is. Terminally chivalrous and perpetually smitten."

"Everyone in this kingdom seems to be that way."

Emeraude shrugged and tugged at the laces of her sheer nightgown. She gave Hikaru a secretive smile. "Do you find me beautiful, girl?"

_Oh._ Hikaru shuddered again. Revulsion mixed with a dark, pleasurable terror. She didn't want to look. "Yes, Highness."

A soft giggle. "I know you do. Everyone does. I am the _Queen_. I'm supposed to be thought of as beautiful and flawless. I suppose it comes with my rank." Hikaru heard the whisper of fabric and felt the soft rustling of a gown slipping over her side. Emeraude had disrobed completely.

"I think you beautiful as well," said the Queen, lowering herself to the sheets. She took a pillow, placed it next to Hikaru's, and slid beneath the blankets with her. "My, but it gets chilly in these rooms sometimes," she said conversationally. "I do so like to have a warm body next to mine. Come, let me touch you, pet."

Hikaru felt that it would have been wrong to struggle, and even more wrong to speak, so when tears pushed from behind her eyelids, she let them flow freely. Emeraude seemed puzzled.

"Hush, now," she said. She slid against Hikaru and put her arms about the smaller girl's neck. "Don't cry, dear one. I'll not harm you."

"I am pledged to Lantis," the girl sobbed. "Please—"

"I know you are," Emeraude assured her. "He is my husband's only brother, and so I must respect what is his. I… Well, I feel a strong attachment to you, girl. I believe it's because, long ago, I was once very much like you."

Hikaru only wept piteously in reply.

"It's true," she continued. She brushed Hikaru's unruly bangs from her forehead. "I was a nervous, frightened young virgin once. This castle seemed terrible to me; dark, forbidding… I lived in a neighboring kingdom, and the procession to this castle, which seemed to reach up to the heavens like a cluster of sharpened swords, was terrifying." She sighed. "But, one grows accustomed to it. As will you. I promise." She smiled sweetly again and kissed Hikaru's moist cheeks. "Don't fret, my pretty girl. Hush now."

Oh, affection. Hikaru had craved it for so long and never realized it. She huddled against Emeraude and wept and quaked, letting the woman stroke her and soothe, like an infant.

"I'm so afraid," Hikaru sobbed. "Lantis so rarely seeks me out. I know he finds me beautiful, but he's never once tried to… deflower me. I'm pledged as his pleasure slave, so what else am I good for? I'm so afraid of being abandoned and cast away, simply because he never has time for me."

"But he called upon you last night, my darling. And you shared his bed. Isn't that comfort enough?"

"No. Everyone is always saying that he has no interest in slaves. B-begging your pardon, Majesty, but I think he took me because you bothered him about it. It had been days before he even bothered to send for me. And even then, it wasn't _him_ that sent for me. He let one of his inferiors escort me around all day!"

"Does he excite you?"

"I don't even know what that means. I've never even gone out with a boy before. I… I think he's handsome, of course, but…" Her mind went to the balcony, to the dim light of sunset and the burning smell of ritual fires, and to the heat that radiated through Lantis' flesh and through her own. Her mind swam with the sensations of his lips against her temple, trembling as if they, too, were heavy with the shame and surprise of virginity. But Lantis was no untried male. And hadn't she felt just the same way with Eagle?

"He touched me," Hikaru said finally. "Or rather, I touched him out of desperation. I couldn't bear the thought of being banished back to the Slave Hall, so I appealed to him as I thought I should." Her heat embarrassed her; she thought that Emeraude must feel it emanating from her tender flesh, baking the Queen's own pale, naked skin. "I don't know what to think about anything."

"You will learn those things, beauty. Your _body_ must learn them. You are a maiden, and an innocent one at that. The ways of the flesh are foreign to you. You must be taught. And you will be, you will be." Emeraude bit back the fact that Lantis was probably not the ideal teacher of the affairs of sexuality.

"I… I don't know how it feels to, you know… Desire a man."

Emeraude pushed her nose into the nest of Hikaru's red hair and inhaled. She smelled as any pleasure slave did; of shampoos, perfumes and body oils. A fine aroma, and an intoxicating one. "You say you touched him. What did you do?"

"I—Well, I fed him."

"You fed him?"

"Yes. You know... I've seen movies and read comic books in which women have fed men grapes and other things… They always seem to get excited over that sort of thing. And I—I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it."

"But did _you?"_

_Well, my _fingers_ certainly did. And my mind seemed not to be coherent afterward._

"If you call that incredible, overwhelming body heat and dizziness "pleasure," than I suppose so."

"That _is_ what you call it." Emeraude sounded delighted. "The first of many baby steps, girl from another world. Would you go to him, if he called?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Oh, love," Emeraude sighed. She pulled Hikaru closer to her and smoothed her thick hair. "Lantis' mind is an opaque, impenetrable elsewhere. He is as foreign to me as you are. But, if he is anything like his brother, and I'm certain he is, then he has deep feelings of love; great, hidden reservoirs of feeling that are just waiting to be tapped. He is capable of such great love. I believe if he loved you, that he wouldn't just love you. He'd worship you. He'd adore you. But he is afraid, as most men are, of his feelings. I'll apologize to you for him. He is a busy young man. He's the commander of a fleet of Mage Knights. He also oversees many political affairs in the palace, since my brother Ferio seems only to care about wining, dining and chasing women." Emeraude bit her lip. "I do not claim to know his mind. I cannot promise you that he will love you. But darling, if he did, it would not matter, because he would not marry you."

Hikaru cried softly. "How could I marry him anyway? I'm fourteen, and I don't even know him!"

"Ah, but fourteen is a good age for marriage, young one. It is in _this_ land, anyway. You're a grown woman, in our eyes. And Lantis is a flesh and blood man, though he may not seem it. I don't expect that he'll be able to deny you for much longer. Wait and see. I shall speak to him myself, if you'd like."

"I just want to actually be _useful_ to someone."

Emeraude seemed to be at her limit of kind words. She said nothing, only continued to pet and fuss over Hikaru. She kissed her cheeks and nose, brushed her fingers through her hair and clung to her. "Let's not be sad. Sleep now. Though," she added with an amused grin, "I suppose it's better for your face to be red and swollen from crying. Your tears, beautiful though they make you, do not move me. They rather dampen the fire I feel for you. And yes, I do so desire you." Her hands were passing over Hikaru's bare back, across her stomach, over her slightly bruised buttocks. They even found her breasts, but Hikaru was far too defeated to care.

"Sleep," Emeraude said again. "I'll slake my lust elsewhere another day. For now, it's enough to lie here with you. I love you dearly, you know, and want you to be happy in my presence." She made Hikaru open her eyes. "Do I make you happy?"

Hikaru sniffed, hiccupped, and nodded.

"Good." Emeraude rested her head against the pillow. "I want you to be happy. I want all three of you to be happy. I hope you can find that for yourselves, in this world…"

Minutes later, she couldn't reckon how many, Hikaru passed into a dreamless sleep. Her senses only registered the perfume rolling on the waves of heat coming from the fire, the perfume of Emeraude's scented hair, and the smoothness of the sheets that enclosed her. For the first time in a long time, she slept fully, without nightmares.

* * *

Fuu hid her face sulkily in her pillow. Now that she was finally alone with Ferio, like she'd wanted, (or not wanted, depending what mood she was in) she didn't have the faintest clue what to say to him. He was sitting beside the bed in one of his chairs, hands folded in his lap, watching her with a concerned expression on his face.

Once they'd returned to his rooms, he'd taken the time to smooth her down with salves and creams, in order to sooth her aching legs. It was kind, but she was angry. She was hurt and defeated. At the present moment, she did not desire his company, for she felt it to be nothing but thinly-veiled mockery.

His eyes told a different story. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"No," she replied.

He ruffled his hair. "I want to help you feel better, Fuu. I'm sorry the games today upset you so."

"_Games?_" she hissed. "Is that all I am to you? Is that all this is? A _game?_"

Ferio looked taken aback. "Fuu, that's not what I meant—"

"It is," she said wearily. "Men say what they mean. Most people do. I'm no fool, Ferio."

_Ferio_, she thought. _So I've become such a disobedient slave that I refer to my Master by his first name? Why, shame on me._

Ferio sighed. He seemed thoroughly worn. Well, she didn't care. She'd been completely and utterly humiliated, all for his pleasure, and for the pleasure of those he ruled. He represented everything in that world that had hurt her up until that moment. She felt little pity.

She sniffled and rolled over. "I want to sleep. Please leave me be, for tonight."

"Oh, I cannot do that," he said softly. "Not on this night."

"But... Ferio, I feel unwell. My heart aches.

"I am sorry to hear that. I want to help you, if you'll have it."

She blushed, ashamed that she was about to lash out with a nasty retort. What had gotten into her?

"My very _soul_ feels defeated... _myprince_." She could hardly stomach the word and so said it quickly through clenched teeth. "Couldn't you let me lie here and recuperate?"

"Why such sadness?"

"Why do you _think?_"

"I don't know, Fuu. I'm not a diviner." He sighed, at a loss for what to do. He wasn't familiar with the hearts of women. He wanted to help, but was impotent. "But... there should be no heartache in this season. These twilight hours are holy, you know."

"What is so special about this night?" When she felt the blankets being pulled away from her, she protested hotly. "No! I want to be left alone, Ferio!" The Prince would hear nothing of it. He tore away the sheets, scooped her up and swept her from the bed. She blushed and stammered. "Please, just let me—"

"No, not on this night," he said again. He carried her in the direction of the open balcony doors, casually reaching down to scoop up her discarded silk robe and proceeded out into the thick night air. The smells of the ritual fires washed around her on the hot breeze, making her feel dizzy.

"Please, no, I feel ill."

"The air of Cephiro will cure you. It cures all ailments," he said merrily. He placed her on the ground and draped her robe over her shoulders. "Come. I want to cheer you. You are pledged to me, but I want you to feel as if you enjoy it. Stand with me." He pulled her to the edge of the balcony. "Look there. See those fires?" He pointed to the ground below.

Fuu slipped her arms into the robe and crossed her arms over her naked breasts. She didn't bother to tie the robe closed. "Yes," she said disinterestedly.

"This is the festival season, as you know." He took a moment to look sheepish. "I regret that it is primarily why I have been away from your side these last few days. Such frivolity requires much planning. Summer is coming. The common folk are worshipping their gods. They light their fires and dance naked under the full moon." He gestured up to the sky. "It is the season of the Red Moon. The Blood Moon, the moon of fertility."

Fuu only sniffled again and nodded.

"They burn special incense. I'm sure you can smell it. It's a rare herb that one must go many miles in search of. Inhaling its smoke can open the gates of the mind to the beyond, to the spirit world. It induces fertility, so they say, by quickening the wombs of women. Later, they'll run off to copulate in the woods and come back with planted seeds. So many fires… so much smoke. I can't deny I feel the power of the spirits myself, on such a magical night." He looked at her. "Do you feel it?"

Fuu shrugged in a defeated sort of way. She didn't care much anymore. It was getting harder to resist his attempts to cheer her. She was just weary. When he pulled her against him to slip an arm around her shoulder, she didn't protest.

He was smiling. "Look at the sky, Fuu. Isn't it lovely? Does the sky look this way in your world? I believe I can see every star in the universe. I can feel them humming and wheeling about over our heads as we speak. Especially on this holy night. Look!"

_Indeed,_ she remarked, _the sky never looks this way in Tokyo. I rarely see stars in that city of artificial light. _She shivered lightly and leaned closer into Ferio's warmth. "They are chanting now."

"Yes," said Ferio, looking back down at the crowds. "They're appealing to their gods, asking them to make their lands fertile and their herds multiply. They're asking for plenty. It will bring them through the summer and through the next winter, if the gods decide to favor them."

"And they are all painted in strange runes," Fuu observed.

"Markings. Believed to be the language of the gods."

"Why do you not participate?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I'm no spiritual fellow. I believe in the physical realm. It's where I reside and all I trust in." He glanced askance at her, and she could very nearly feel the blush that crept across his cheeks. "_People_ excite and intrigue me, not vague mysteries and old, dead gods. I want warmth and pleasure, not the infernal, ethereal unknown that most seek and never find."

She closed her eyes and allowed a small smile. "I suppose that is why you seek _me._ My warmth. My pleasure?" She blinked and rubbed her eyes. She was getting sleepy.

He turned on her with a strange expression. His eyes seemed to burn into hers. Their golden hues were lit aflame by the fires below. "I seek you for many reasons. You were pledged to me, of your own free will, if I'm not mistaken. You could have chosen not to have me."

Fuu jaw hung limply. "_Free will_? In this land? Ferio, you are raving."

"Believe it or not, my beauty from another world. If you would have refused, you may have been punished and sent back. I can't guarantee exactly what would have happened but, because of your great beauty, you would have been passed to another Lord. We could not part with one as lovely as you so easily."

"Are you saying that if I refuse you, you'll give me to someone else?"

She hadn't realized it, but her hands had been enclosed in his for some time now. He held them against his robes, looking as if he were delivering a powerful sermon. "I hope very sincerely that that will not happen," he said.

"You, sincere?" Fuu knew she was being petulant and childish. She didn't care. Her heart ached and her spirit was fraying at the edges. And now her head swam. The infernal fumes of the fires were toying with her brain. She could not think very logically. And Ferio's body heat was beginning to make her own skin flush. Was it getting cold outside already? She shivered.

"You think me insincere?" was all he managed to say.

"I do. Most of the time."

His lips parted. He wanted to say something, but couldn't. He drew closer to her. "And what of now?"

She giggled, in spite of herself. "I don't know what to think. You Cephrans and your magical fires are playing tricks with my mind."

"That's the idea," he said with a slow smile. "Your mind is opening onto new realms of understanding. Understand me, and my heart."

Fuu closed her eyes, still feeling light-headed. Damn those execrable fires. And damn this night air. She could not stop shivering, despite the fact that she felt fever creeping into her senses and invading her exposed limbs.

Ferio unpinned his cloak and draped it around her shoulders. "I'd like you to think better of me, Fuu," he said softly. "I adore you."

She grinned. "I'd believe it, too, on a night such as this."

"Yes, on a night such as this," he agreed. "Which is what I have been saying all along." He tugged off his gloves and thrust his naked hands into her hair. "Fuu, you are beautiful. I would be a happy man, indeed, if you could think kindly of me."

_Oh, I just bet you would,_ she thought cynically. But that cynical, cold, calculating part of her brain was shutting off. She was tired. She was curiously warm and cold at the same time. And those dizzying perfumes and melodic chants were soothing. She'd put up enough of a fight today. With some sleep, she'd awaken with new resolve and put Ferio back in his place. Or perhaps she'd wake up again as a frightened young virgin, the trembling, untouched maiden hiding in the depths of her mind that were being locked away by the magic of the night.

_Magic. Yes, that's it. This land's magic is filling me, like a goblet. I feel as if I'll overflow._

"You are working your spells on me," she said when she pressed her cheek to his chest. "That's not fair. I've no magic to work on you."

"On the contrary," he whispered huskily. "You have me firmly entrapped in your spells, my girl."

"I will let you think that for now," she said, meeting his gaze at least. It was still flaming gold. Ah, handsome he was, indeed. For now, it was enough to rest against him and feel his warmth. It renewed her, in a way. _Let him think that he is enamored of me,_ she thought. _I may be able to use that to my advantage later._

But thoughts of treachery or secretiveness had no room in her mind. She turned her cheek into the hand that caressed her hair. She flushed hotter. More heat and perfume was rolling off of the fires below.

"If I had magic, I'd be able to free myself from these chains."

"I have no chains on you."

"You do, on my _heart._"

"Fuu, if I had any form of grasp whatsoever on your heart, I could die right now, a happy and fulfilled man."

"Pretty words that sound practiced," she sighed against his cheek. "I'm not the first woman you've said these things to." _Even when I'm feeling dizzy and loopy, I can see that!_

Ferio averted his gaze. "That doesn't matter."

"Of course it does."

He was quiet for some time. She'd obviously penetrated some sort of well-constructed wall that he'd built against her. Some small part of him had been exposed, and he didn't like it. Or was that look on his face sadness? She couldn't tell. In fact, it was difficult to keep her eyes open. What time was it?

"Nevermind my thoughts or actions. Obviously, they matter not to you."

"They _do_, though. Everything about you is relevent to me. I'm your _slave._"

He scoffed. "You're making that word sound worse than it is."

"Oh, am I?"

"Yes."

Fuu only giggled and leaned more into his warmth. Really, it was getting quite chilly outside.

"I care for you," he whispered. "It's as plain as that. And I like to be plain, really I do. Fuu, our meeting was not coincidence. I love you dearly."

"Yes," she said. "I know you do. But why?"

His lips moved across her cheeks. "Why not?"

"Fair point." She never raised her lips to his, but when they slipped against hers, she did not resist them. Pressed against his taut, warm body, she thought she'd surely swoon in a moment or two, anyway.

"Ah, Fuu, Fuu," he whispered again to her. Or was it a chant? Didn't the chanting below sound a little something like, "Fuu, Fuu?" No, of course it couldn't be. Why would the people appeal to her as a God? Why would they worship her as if she were a new Goddess? Or was it "Queen" they were chanting?

He had her now, on a long, plush couch that decorated the balcony. His hands roamed her body, followed ever-closely by his mouth. He was memorizing her. Or _mesmerizing_. The clever Cephrans and their magic. It wasn't fair. Spellwork was against the rules. Her logic could not fight magic.

"Your magic," he said softly, or so she thought. "Has me thoroughly enslaved. Look to the West. That star burns brightest for you."

Fuu opened her eyes, trying to swim up through the slow waters of her magic-enduced trance. Far in the west, she saw a gleaming point of light. "That is not a star," she said casually, not really knowing why she'd said it.

Ferio's hands were away from her. Well, not completely. Her head lolled against the pillows as his warmth pulled away with him. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes again. She could see bright flakes of fire floating upward on the wind. They lit the air and danced, like fireflies. She watched their progression with strange fascination, and soon she began to believe that they _were_ fireflies.

"You are right," Ferio said suddenly. Fuu looked back to the West. "That's no star. Why, I wonder what it could be."

Fuu didn't care. Her head fell back against the pillows and, in the sky above, she could see the wavering lights of the great fissure she'd caused. They appeared only in the dusk, so she was told. Like the Northern Lights—

"An odd twinkle," he said. "Very strange."

—But she'd never been so far north. Was this world in the North? Oh, that was a silly thought. How could a whole _world_ be north? Maybe this kingdom was in the north of this world. Her world. Well, her world _was_ this world, essentially, wasn't it? Didn't they only lie on parallel planes? In a parallel plane, she was a careless, intelligent, practical young girl. So then, this was the parallel of the parallel world? The parallel parallel world? Paralarallel? So, she was the… parallel of her parallel self?

Fuu clutched her head. "Oh, what is _wrong_ with me?" she moaned.

His hands circled her wrists. "Come to bed with me?" She heard him ask. Or thought he'd asked. Had he been speaking this whole time?

"Yes, I'm weary."

"Thank you, beloved." His smiling face was near hers again, and she smelled his foreign, male smell. It excited her, mingling as it was with the magical perfumes of the night. He picked her up. Oh, Kami, she very nearly felt drunk. She _did_ have that glass of champagne at her cousin's wedding last winter. Actually, it had been two. That feeling felt very much like this one. His hands on her skin were foreign, but weren't. She felt them, but didn't.

"My body feels hot," she whispered. _Let him do what he likes with me. I don't care anymore. After all, his mouth against mine isn't quite so bad._

"Come my darling, to bed with us. I should have thought better than to expose you to the herbal smoke. You've never smelled it before. I'll take you inside so that you don't get ill."

"Ok," she said weakly, allowing herself to be carried. Or was she flying? Levitation, yes, that was the feeling.

He kissed her forehead. "You'll feel better soon, Fuu. We'll retire early, and tomorrow, you must remind me to tell the Master Mage that Windam's Sky Shrine is alive."

* * *

Umi was asleep almost as soon as she was laid against the pillows. Her sleep was fitful, he could tell that much. She tossed and turned, muttering and murmuring against whatever dreams she was having. He could divine them, if he wished, but he had not the energy for it.

It was her body that held his gaze. It was glowing a faint pearly color. Or perhaps a pale blue. His eyes narrowed at her right hand, which seemed to exude the most light. He stared. In all his nearly eight-hundred years, he'd only seen a select few women who displayed such power. If that's what she really was… but no, how could it be? She was just a child…

_A child whose mere presence in my bed could condemn me to death, in the eyes of the Gods… Oh Pillar, I've laid hands on the flesh of a Magic Knight…_

In his peripheral vision, he sensed the disturbance of one of his divining pools. He looked over his shoulder into the next room. The pool was glowing as well. The ripples spread outward, beckoning to him.

But he wasn't sure he wanted to look into its depths. No, he wasn't quite so sure about _that._


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: This is my first post as a married woman! Yay! Enjoy.

* * *

**CAPTIVE AND CAPTIVATED**

**Chapter 8  
**

Umi brushed away the fingers that were tickling her face. They returned, and she batted at them again. _Can't even get a single moment's rest in this place, honestly._

The heat source that had been keeping her warm for some time shifted slightly. She jabbed at it with her elbow. _Frigid castles with their nasty drafts…_

"Wake up, Umi," Clef said.

_No,_ she thought, and returned to her dream. She had been facing her classmates, telling them all about the latest gossip she'd heard about the girls from the neighboring school. Yes, _apparently_ they'd had a dance over the weekend; a dance which _boys_ had been invited to, wouldn't you believe it, and most of the girls had snuck off with their dates!

"_Oh Umi," they said, "How do you _know_ these things?"_

"_Well, it's my boyfriend, you see, he—"_

"_Boyfriend!" they all squealed in unison. Hands slapped playfully at her legs. Girls with shadowy faces hid giggles behind their hands. "You never told us you had a _boyfriend_, Umi!"_

"_Well, it's complicated, you see… I actually rather hate him."_

_More squealing and giggling. _More fingers tickling her face. They traced the curve of her mouth and she blew at them distractedly._ "How can you hate your boyfriend? Oh, is he cute?" _

"_I suppose he's handsome enough, but—"_

"_Don't let that distract you from the fencing tournament next month," they all warned._

_Umi felt only a slight chill at the words. Yes, she had the tournament. But she had not practiced. In fact, she was lost._

"_I can't seem to find my way back to that place," she told them. "My boyfriend, he—"_

"He's a diviner," she said.

"_Some wicked sorcerer who's going to ensure our loss against the other school!" they chorused. "Umi, you should be ashamed of yourself for being so selfish and wanton!"_

"_No, you don't understand, it's not my fault."_

"_Of course it's your fault, who else's could it be?"_

"It's not my fault."

"_No matter what he shows you or how he takes care of you, you _know_ he doesn't love you. He said so himself."_

"_He didn't say it in exactly those words. Get your hands off my face, please. _No really, take your hands from my face. _And I don't love him ether, so it doesn't matter."_

"It does matter," he said.

"_No, no, it's immaterial. He's made me become lost. I don't know where I am." _Again, she turned her face from the roaming fingers. But, they found her mouth once more and, reluctantly, she closed her lips around them.

Well, Clef had had enough of watching her dream. He wanted her to experience the pools.

Leaning down, he replaced his fingers with his own lips against her mouth. Umi turned and groaned.

"Leemelone…"

"No, I won't do that."

"Mmph…"

Clef sat up and looked around. No one was within earshot. No one could see them. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to actually be sweet for a change. Although, it would probably be best to draw the curtains, just in case…

Clef grabbed the edges of the massive curtains that stretched up to infinity towards the ceiling and walked with them, pulling them closed. The holders and rods clicked loudly, too loud and abrasive to his sensitive ears. Umi would awaken, surely…

But he wanted to show her the pools. If what he saw last night resulted in what he thought it would, then they wouldn't have much time. And, rather than sit idly and be tormented with thoughts that he had neither the energy nor the capacity to tolerate, he wanted to entertain his _slave_ with idle things.

It was now quite dark in the room. He could barely see her silhouette, rising from the immaculate sheets of his bed. He crawled in next to her. She would awaken and protest, but he'd soothe her into submission. Or try to, anyway.

"Umi." He traced the line of her jaw with a small, pale hand. "I want you to accompany me today."

"Mmm…"

He stared at her and thought, _I am trespassing even now. Just by this small action. The Gods will punish me._

_Or, perhaps they already have. Yes, I do believe that they have. _If his long, long years of training were right, and they should be really, he was already thoroughly damned. So… no matter. He slipped out of his cotton pants. "Umi."

"Yes?" she whispered hoarsely. "Why are you waking me up? It's still dark out…" Her words were thick and slurred with sleep. He did not believe her to be truly awake yet.

"It is still night, yes. The time of the spirits. They've come alive while you slept. I want you to see them."

"Go away," she muttered.

He bit back a nasty retort; the idea of sin displeased him. "Wake up, lover. Come away with me.'

Finally, he caught the slight spark of her consciousness. "What?" she said.

"Are you hungry?" he smiled. "Would you like breakfast?"

"What—no, what do you mean? It's the middle of the night."

_It is nearly midday,_ he thought irritably, but refrained from reminding her. "This is the bewitching hour. Come."

Umi threw out her hand, smacking Clef across the chest. "What _gives?_ I was sleeping well, too…"

Clef took her hand in his. "You know, I have yet to claim what is rightfully mine."

He could barely see her face in the dim light. He saw her mouth contorting in displeasure; saw her hair falling in her face. "What are you talking about?"

He laughed softly. "Your maidenhead. It _is_ mine, you know."

This seemed to jar Umi awake. Her eyes opened and she cast her eyes about for some purchase in the dark room. She looked over at him with eyes that were wide and frightened.

"I wonder why you look at me that way."

She said nothing.

"Am I really so bad?"

"I suppose not…"

"And if I were to take what I wanted right now, right in this very bed as we speak, would you continue to give me that frightened animal look?"

"Um." She bit her lip. "Well, maybe if you gave me a drink or something first…"

Clef wasn't sure whether or not to take offense to that statement. She was a nervous virgin, after all. Ultimately, he ignored it. "I think, when it was over, that you would most certainly look at me with different eyes."

"Think so?"

"Yes. You see, unlike Ferio, that feckless reprobate, I cater to the needs of my women before my own." He sighed and shifted closer to her. "It's the years of experience, you see."

"So," she began tentatively, "You've been with many women?"

He shrugged. "Who can say? So much has been lost to the years. I am _centuries_ old, little girl."

Umi's mouth took on a curiously arousing pout. "And I'm no little girl, _old man._"

"The way you quiver, when I place the curve of my hand here," he said while his hands roamed the bare expanse of her stomach. She blushed. "…Would suggest otherwise."

Clef was having hell's own time disguising _his_ trepidation. After what he'd seen last night, well… Things were different now. His new relationship had been brought onto an entirely new plane, one on which he would be condemned for the gravest sin just for touching her.

He placed his hands on either side of her waist, shaking all the while. Gods, why was her body so burning hot? He couldn't quite get a grip on her. "I—" He reached over to taste her neckline. It had been years. So many years. When had he even last had a woman? He could not recall. But that wasn't really the issue. He could go another hundred years without one. He couldn't recall when he'd last _enjoyed_ himself with a woman. Perhaps when he was young and his seed was yet vital. It had never mattered before. And she was only a young, impetuous thing, like all the others.

"Forgive me," he said with his mouth against her throat. "I feel as if I'm not myself today…"

Umi merely trembled. She had rather gotten used to Clef's touch, but now it seemed different. He seemed vulnerable; changed.

"I," she said, "I—oh!"

"There, then? Is that where you like it?" His teeth found her earlobe.

"Well," she began. _I can hardly say. I really wouldn't know._

"I think I've always prided myself in being experienced in this sort of thing," he said. He scooped her hair away from her neck and kissed the bare places there. "Having knowledge in the bodies of women, that is. I know our young Prince Ferio thinks himself quite the lover of the ages, but…" He smiled, almost sardonically. "I've got many more years under my belt, you understand." On impulse, Clef grabbed her wrists and pulled her forward, pushing her up and forcing her to sit on top of him. She gave a surprised squeak.

"Ah, that hurts—"she protested. Her hands writhed in his grasp which, though small, was surprisingly strong.

"Relax." He shifted her weight on him so that her legs would evenly distribute her in his lap. He then took her hands and flattened them out over his chest, with his own hands pressed firmly on top. He wouldn't let her move. Not for now, at least.

Umi trembled, tried to gently pull herself away from him, and could not. It was too dark for him to see the shameful, dark color creeping beneath her skin, but he could feel the heat of her embarrassment. It excited him.

He relaxed back into the pillows, looking cool and uncompromised. Umi continued to shake. "So," he said. "Here it is. You are ashamed of your nudity, even now."

Umi grimaced. "I am when I'm…_ spread out_ over you like this."

He looked down at his lap. "A sight I've grown accustomed to. Why be ashamed now?"

"Clef, you embarrass me," she muttered.

He simply smirked again. His face had taken on that cold complacency that she hated; that look of his that said _I am a predator, and you are my prey._

She shifted uncomfortably over him, wishing that her more sensitive parts weren't pressed so forcefully against his. And then the thought of his _manhood_ entered her mind and she shook harder. Maleness and the parts that accompanied it were completely unknown to her. Textbooks of biology and anatomy surfaced in her mind. Long, wordy terms fitted in little boxes with pointing arrows, cross-sections of skin and blood and bodily parts, grooves, nooks, crannies… "Urgh," she said, finally. "And you're a boy. You're such a kid."

"In body," he reminded her. "And… not so much like a child. I function as an adult. I perform as a man, as it were." The color had risen to his face. It seemed that even the gentle motion of the rising and falling of his chest turned her stomach. She would be ill.

Clef sighed and rubbed her hands with his thumbs. "I am a powerful man, Umi. I can look whatever way I want. This is my chosen form, and I'm sorry it repulses you."

"I just don't understand that…"

He shrugged. "It doesn't matter. And it wouldn't matter, even if you did." He took a moment to rake her bodily lazily with his eyes, pulling her ever so slightly forward. Her hair fell loosely over her shoulders, covering the better part of her chest. She went with him, allowed his advance. When she leaned forward too, he reacted strangely. He arched his back with her, pulling his head back into the pillows. Maintaining their distance.

"I think this is for your own sick pleasure," she said.

"Of course it is."

But he made no move to touch her. His hands remained firmly planted atop her own. He held them there against his chest, alternately loosening and tightening his grip. He seemed to be indecisive. His eyes stared through her hers, like those of a hungry wolf, and suddenly they widened. His hands dropped away from hers. He splayed out over the sheets, lifted his chin and stared at her as if afraid.

"I—" he breathed.

Umi's brow furrowed. "What is it?" To her great surprise, she found him to be trembling as well. It almost made her laugh. "What is it this time?" How strange. He wouldn't reply. He just lay there, looking as if he were afraid she'd strike him. His… oh, his _lip_ was quivering. What on Earth…? "Clef, what are you…" She placed her hands on his stomach and he inhaled sharply, almost defensively. His eyes were still wide.

_You have the upper hand,_ his body seemed to say. _I am defenseless now._ But why?

She bit her lip and looked down at her hands. Should she continue from here? He seemed to be giving her permission. But why was he allowing her to take him? "I don't know… what to do…" So, she did what she assumed _she_ would like. She let her hands travel across his chest.

"Umi," he said distractedly. He tried to look away, but couldn't. She could almost _see_ him fighting with his own body. "It's, ah…"

"What?"

His eyes squeezed shut. "Nothing."

"It's _something,_ obviously. What's wrong with you, anyway?" She sighed and rested her torso against his. With her chin in her hand, she peered into his face. "Am I exciting you?" He said nothing. "Why won't you look at me?" He covered his eyes with the palms of his hands and still did not reply. "Clef… Tell me what you want. I'll do it." _I might as well. No time like the present, since it's what I'm damned to do…_

She kissed him. It was gentle, very light, and just on the jaw. He exhaled the breath he'd been holding. "Mmf…"

Umi couldn't blame him for shaking like a leaf. She was shaking just as hard. Her breath came in tiny, hitched little puffs. Her lips trembled but finally closed on his cheek. Still, he said nothing. He _did_ nothing. His fists were clenched very tightly over his eyes. Even his legs had gone rigid. But they were moving. He was slowly stretching out, lengthening himself beneath her, accommodating her weight against his lap and chest. It was an oddly sensual feeling, like the smooth stretching of a cat. Every muscle in his body was drawn and taut, tight with anticipation? Fear? Loathing? She couldn't tell.

"You brought this on yourself," she said quietly. "You're fighting your own battle, you know."

He released another withheld breath, this time in hissing scoff.

Strange that _she_ was beginning to feel warm. Perhaps it was her newly gained domination over him and his apparent struggle. It… well, it excited her. She _was_ excited. So she kissed him again. And again. Each feather-light peck of the lips traveled closer to his own mouth. Her lips graced his...

"Enough."

He moved from beneath her and she said, "No, only a bit longer..."

But he'd ended the moment. He's broken her spell. He stepped tentatively out of the bed. Umi watched him stand there for a moment with his hands by his sides. He still seemed indecisive. He scratched his belly and glanced at her over his shoulder. "Right, then. Follow me."

She glared at him. _Of all the insufferable... And just when I was starting to feel better about things..._ His eyes told her that he was not the type to be dominated. Well, that was fine. She'd have her time. So, she followed him, very reluctantly. It seemed foolish to bother with the robe at that point, so she left it laying on the bed. Clef didn't bother to dress himself either, though he did grab his staff from its resting place against the fireplace. The room was warm and, in any case, Umi was still so fevered that she barely noticed her nakedness. They were alone, so…

She followed him through the innumerable sitting rooms, drawing rooms and parlors that filled his suite. She stared at his back, thinking all the while, _I don't really think I'm attracted to him, but... when he surrenders to me, he's so much more beautiful. _She clapped a hand over her mouth. No _way_ would she let his infernal magic play so on her mind!

In the last room, there was a large, carved mahogany door leading to the next. Clef paused before it. "I allow no one in this room, save for myself. However, I do believe you'd be an exception."

Umi, slightly annoyed that he seemed to be talking to himself more than to her, frowned. "And why's that?"

He glanced at her, but he still looked afraid to meet her eyes. "You shall see once we go in."

She continued to glare at his back. When he pushed the doors open, all she could see was darkness. Then again, her eyes were still having trouble adjusting the light. She rubbed them, following him inside, fearful she'd trip over something and fall flat on her face. Wouldn't that just be the sexiest?

She'd lost sight of Clef for a moment. The room seemed to be smaller than the rest, though the ceilings were tall. Her voice echoed off of the walls. She reached out to touch them and felt mossy stone.

"Close the door, please," his voice echoed from the corner. Umi obliged, wrinkling her nose against the musty smell of the room.

"Where are we? What do you keep in here, dead bodies? This is totally the kind of room a psychopath hides dead bodies in."

Clef lit a small candle. It illuminated the withering look he was giving her. Umi blinked, rubbed her eyes again, and saw that she and Clef were separated by what appeared to be a large, above-ground pool. Its sides were constructed of thick stone. Its water seemed murky and menacing in the darkness.

"Place your hands on the side," he said, "But do not touch the water."

"All right…"

He watched her warily as he plucked a small jar off of the side of the basin. He lifted the top and brought out a pinch of its contents. He then sprinkled them over the water.

"What is that?"

"Herbs." He dusted of his hands, ran them nervously through his hair and steeled himself. "All right. Stand back a bit, if you wouldn't mind. Just for a moment. I'm not…" He wiped his lips. "Well, I'm not exactly sure what's going to happen now."

Umi snatched her hand away and said, "Clef! Are you serious?" He motioned for silence. "I can't believe this…" She rubbed her bare arms, looking warily down into the black water.

Clef took up his staff and held it in front of him. He gave the water a nervous look before touching its glass-like surface with the tip of the staff. Water rippled out slowly, almost _too_ slowly. That was no ordinary water.

Umi rubbed her hands. They'd turned icy. She looked down at her fingers and realized they were glowing a bit. Or, rather, light was reflecting from them, and not the candlelight. In fact, when she raised her eyes, Clef had blown out the flickering flame. The glow was coming from the water. Each ripple spread to the edges of the basin and splashed gently against the stones. They were rippling of their own accord; Clef had long since cast away his staff.

He whispered something and Umi said, "What was that?" His whispers continued and, when she was about to question, she paused. He was staring into the water with round eyes. The light, now a faint blue color, was reflecting from his them in an odd manner. Or perhaps the light was _coming_ from his eyes. His lips moved and she could hear his whispers, but couldn't make them out. They were chants; fervent prayers.

_Oh, this is creepy,_ she thought, hugging herself and backing into the corner. She didn't like the way the tendons in his neck stood out against his nearly-ivory skin, or the way his hands gripped the stone basin. His fingers looked like white claws.

"Clef?" she whispered. She was watching the water. It had taken on a pale, silvery sheen. His eyes traced movements in the water. He was studying what he found there. Whatever he saw, she could not see it.

His eyes quickly shifted onto hers and she jumped, slightly startled. "This is one of my divining pools," he said quietly. "This particular pool shows me the past. Things that were. And, sometimes, things that are." He looked back down into the water. "This is how the Gods communicate with me. I am their conduit. That is what was bestowed upon me as I was appointed the Madoshi." He moistened his lips with the tip of his tongue. "Allow me to show you… _my_ realm of Cephiro."

His eyes frightened her. They swam and rippled, like the surface of the silvery water. Magic pulsed through him. She could feel it emanating through the musty air of the room. It was cold and made her feel ill.

"What if I don't want to see?"

He chuckled and held out his hand. "Come, you may stand beside me. Look into the water, and I shall show you my secrets.

Umi didn't move from her spot. She looked at Clef's outstretched hand and then back at the water. It was still rippling slowly. "It won't… hurt me, will it?"

"You think I would lead you into danger?"

She frowned at him. "I don't know. _Would_ you?"

He smiled and beckoned to her. Was it just her, or did she see vague, shapeless mists swirling around his fingers? She blinked and saw only his hand. Finally, she took it.

"Ah!" she cried. He pulled her over to him so that their bodies were pressed closely together. She clung to his arm and cried out again. "What is it?" His skin hummed against hers. It was like clutching a high-voltage power line. It made her teeth chatter. "Ah, Clef, stop, it feels so strange—"

"That is my power flooding into you. You must tap into it to see into the pool." His eyes were closed and he swayed slightly, as if dizzy. "Forgive me," he said, licking his lips again. "You could say that I'm 'drunk with power.'"

Umi _could_ forgive him because it made her feel pleasantly dizzy, too. She tingled and thrummed from her toes to the tip of her tongue. She stared at her splayed fingers and feared that if she'd touch them together, she'd give herself an almighty shock. Or, she'd see a great arc of lightening between them, like you see in those special, glowing lamps in museums.

Clef moved forward with her, pressing her between himself and the stone basin. He didn't speak to her, but he rested his chin on his shoulder. His arms went round her, palms in. He placed them on her elbows, slid them down her forearms, and…

"No," she moaned.

"Yes."

He clapped her hands together with his.

* * *

To lift her spirits, Emeraude thought it would be a lovely idea to bring Hikaru on a ride through the vast Cephran fields. The morning after her _interesting_ night with the Queen, Hikaru had woken rested, but still looking sullen and gloomy. Emeraude would have none of that. "No sadness shall show itself on _this_ lovely little face!" she'd exclaimed. So, after a quiet breakfast in the Queen's rooms, Hikaru was ushered into the bathroom to be prepared for her outing. The room itself awed her. It was immense! The bathtub alone, sunken deep into the floor, looked like it would have easily accommodated ten people. Of course, Emeraude insisted on bathing Hikaru herself.

_I don't think I'll ever really understand her strange devotion to me,_ the redhead thought. Her Page was also attending her, standing aside to offer towels, soaps and other toiletries. To Hikaru's delight, he also produced a dress.

"Oh thank God," she nearly gasped. "I get to wear _clothes!_"

Emeraude only laughed her tinkling laugh. "Yes, my darling, but only for this day. Once indoors again, I'm afraid it's back to _au natural_ for you."

Once she was dressed and slippers were placed on her feet, Hikaru was swept from the palace with a small army of escorts.

My, but it was nice to be outside again. She hadn't been out since her day with Eagle. And even then, she'd still been so distraught that she couldn't properly enjoy the sunshine and fresh air, both of which did _not_ exist in the dark, stuffy rooms of the Palace, lavish though it was.

"Ah," Hikaru said aloud. She admired the landscape. Cephiro really was quite pretty. The palace had been situated in the middle of vast, rolling fields. Green grass grew as tall as their knees for miles around. Near one wing of the castle, she could see the familiar forest. It spread out into the distance as well. Perhaps… to the sea? Was that the sea she saw?

Her Page drew up beside her. "Beyond these great fields lie the villages," he said. "This country is very large, with many thousand inhabitants. You may not see them, though. At least, not the commonfolk. They have little business here."

"Why is that?" Hikaru asked, genuinely interested. She really knew so little about this land.

Her Page nodded to the East. "The closest village is twenty miles away. Few have a desire to make that journey. And political affairs are not taken care of here, at least not town ones. The lords of all the different provinces take care of that. _They _come here, not the people they rule."

"And what do people do around here? I'm guessing they farm, or do simple things like that. You guys don't seem very technologically advanced. Not like… oh, what did Eagle say the name of his country was?"

He gave her a slightly stern look. "_Master_ Eagle comes from the neighboring country of Autozam. They are indeed very advanced. But their ways are of cold metal and electricity. We love the earth and all she can provide.

"Hm." Hikaru squinted into the sun. Across the field, she saw another smattering of horses. And men, too. There was a small group of men huddled near the edge of the trees, right at the top of the farthest hill. She could see Lantis among them.

"The soldiers?" she asked aloud.

Their presence spooked the horses of the other party. She could see Lantis turn round to squint at them. His eyes fell on Emeraude, on their crew, and then on Hikaru. He straightened visibly.

"Shall I leave you with your Master today, my pet?" asked Emeraude with a sly smirk on her face.

Hikaru smoothed the folds of her dress. Oh, Lantis was looking their way, all right. Her Master seemed to be quite interested in her proximity.

"Well," Emeraude simpered, "You'll have to wait on that, I'm afraid. I still have to bring you through the apple orchards and, if we have time, the coast! It's so lovely, especially in this morning light." She reached across and took Hikaru's hand. "You'll go to him soon. Is that excitement I see in your eyes?"

Hikaru frowned. "I'm not sure. I think you'd better ask _him_ that. He looks… well, he's staring at us."

"Naturally." Emeraude winked. "Well then, let's be off. So much to see!"

"Yes ma'am." Hikaru followed silently, her head swimming with thoughts. She wasn't sure whether or not she was looking forward to a meeting with her Master later that day. But she _was_ very content to be in this sunshine. The smell of grass cheered her. Yes, she longed to see the rest of this beautiful country. Lantis could wait.

* * *

"Look into the water," Clef whispered into her ear. "Tell me what you see."

But Umi could hardly open her eyes. Clef's hands clasped tightly over hers were rendering her immobile. She felt as if she had her finger in an electrical socket. She didn't think she'd be able to speak either; her teeth chattered noisily, making her whole head vibrate.

Clef's mouth closed over the tip of her earlobe. "Go on."

With tremendous force, she forced open one eye. The water looked much the same as it had before; silvery and full of ripples. Actually, the water almost looked… clouded. No, they _were_ clouds. Both eyes opened and the giant pool spread through her whole field of vision. Ah, yes, they were storm clouds. Great, billowing, black monsters with curtains of lightning crackling as far as she could see. Shapes moved in and out of the clouds. Black shapes.

Clef's fingers pried her hands apart and interlocked with hers, lacing together firmly, closing the circuit once again. "Look deeper."

"Is it… the world?" she asked. When the clouds withdrew and the lightning ceased to break the sky, she could see only blackness. Vast, deep, impenetrable blackness. Soon, points of light appeared; perhaps two or three. They grew and swelled as she watched. It actually seemed familiar to her. Once, in Tokyo, she'd gone to a planetarium and watched one of those 3D movies with her parents. They all had to wear those boxy, paper glasses that blurred their vision and eventually made Umi's head ache. The movie was about the formation of the universe and, with those glasses on, glowing globs of gasses swirled together and rebounded off of one another, forming planets and stars. Yes, this was very much like that.

"The world," she whispered.

And before her eyes, the gleaming balls of light condensed and glowed brighter. They became spherical. More little points of light formed around them. Clef tightened his grip on her hands and _whoosh!_ The Sphere jumped into larger view and she… oh, she could see rivers of magma. She saw volcanoes thrust from the earth, vomiting their contents out onto the scorched rocks around them. When Umi squinted, she could see hands. Hands! Huge pairs of hands squeezing those mountains, forcing their contents out, flattening and shaping them and creating cliffs, rock, shorelines, mountain ranges.

"Who?"

She could see long, white…_things_ stretching across the landscape. They came from the ground, rained from the sky, crawled from the broiling oceans. Umi could see them forming more things. She could see their hands again, pulling trees and grass from the ground.

"Ohhh," she breathed. They were _spirits._ They were creating the world before her eyes! While their rocks and plants and wildlife grew, so did they. They ceased to be shapeless beings and formed into giants, all with different characteristics. Some looked like animals, others like humans.

Most of the beings _became_ what they made. Or, they appeared to join them. The trees shook with life, spreading their limbs that looked alternately like leaves and fingers. Even the very rocked hummed with life, filled with spirits even to their solid cores. _Everything_ was alive. Everything had a soul. Everything!

_So this is what Clef communes with,_ she thought, staring around in awe. _This is what he is Master of._

"Yes," he whispered to her. "This is my realm."

Umi continued to watch the spirits dance about on the Earth they'd newly created. They spread over the landscape and fanned out in great trellises, bringing life with them. It seemed as if they sowed seeds along their way. She could see bright points of light trailing behind them. And as she watched the points of light, they grew into… people?

"Our race was spawned from the very Gods," he whispered again. "What you see is holy, my love."

"Your _love_," Umi repeated, eyes wide and watery. "You say that now…" His breath ghosted her ear in quiet laughter, and she paused. His chin rested on her shoulder, and yet she was standing on her tiptoes. She looked at her arms and saw that his fingers stretched out far past her own. "Clef—"

"Do not turn," he warned her. "It will break the spell. Look into the water and _see._"

"But you're…"

"A man? A point I've pressed since I've come into your acquaintance."

And while her eyes were locked on the swelling, bloating Earth before her, she _did_ feel the lean hardness of a man behind her; a man only slightly taller than herself and with lean, fine limbs. He was very unlike most men that she knew.

"Clef," she said softly. But there was nothing to say. Everything had been brought into sharper focus as he took her hands and splayed them out over the water. Her fingertips would brush the surface if he would but lower them slightly… She felt as if she had been enveloped now. She was _among_ the spirits and the gods and the little scurrying creatures that had been birthed from them. She looked round and saw a lone creature sitting curled on a rock. They were in a valley—a green, wide valley, hedged on both sides by dark trees and dancing lights. The creature's eyes bored into hers. They were a bright gold.

"Don't be afraid." He clutched her hands tightly and said, "I am with you, so you need not fear. I absorb most of this energy. However, I've never done this before, so I have no idea what will happen after I do this."

"Do what?"

"This." He pushed her hands down in one swift motion and, before she knew it, Umi was elbows-deep in the pool.

She screamed, but Clef held her steady. Her wide, terrified eyes saw the water swirling around her arms. She could also see the thin, milky essence of the spirits rise from their little Earth model and swirl to meet her fingertips. She picked up a steady rumbling and thought that it must be the little Earth that she could finally hear. She cried out to Clef but he was deeply entranced in prayer again. To her horror, the little spirits deformed themselves. They turned black and spiky. They clutched at her fingertips and burned themselves into her flesh, spiraling round and round, all the way up her arms.

"No!" she cried. "What _is_ this?" _Serpents,_ she thought. _They're like serpents _

Clef opened his eyes. He squinted into the far side of the room. He, too, heard the rumbling.

And they _did_ feel like serpents. She could feel their little tongues flicking out across her skin as they burned their way across her flesh … they didn't hurt her. In fact, they were pulling her down. Soon, she felt engulfed by water.

"Clef?" she asked. But he was gone. She was beneath the ocean. She looked up, down, to her left and right… she was alone! Where had Clef gone?

Ah, the rumbling was _definitely_ louder now. It came from below. There was a great underwater mountain. And an opening in its side. Was that light coming from its open mouth? It was pulling her down, down into its dark depths.

"The Sea Shrine!" she heard Clef call from a distance. "As I thought!"

Hands yanked her roughly from the depths. The rumbling below ceased its pull on her soul. "Clef!" she cried again. The water began to suffocate her. She would surely drown! Right as she broke the surface, something snaked around her ankle. It was one of the snakelike creatures. No, it was _the_ serpent. A great dragon.

Clef yanked her away from the pool before she could be taken by the beast. When the dragon lost its grip on Umi, they broke apart in a terrific blast of blue light. Clef was thrown back against the wall.

Umi lost her grip on the stones and collapsed to her knees. She was shaking all over. All she could do was stare in horror at her hands. They were clean and bare as if nothing in that horrid water had ever touched her. She moaned and thrust her hands into her hair. "Why?"

Clef lay crumpled against the far wall. She heard him give a groan as he tried to sit up.

"I feared that," he choked. "I feared it… All this time…" He pushed himself into a sitting position and stared at his open hand. He clenched and unclenched his fist, hissing in pain.

"Clef, take me out of here," Umi moaned. She rested her forehead against the stones, remarking at the way his powers still lingered in her flesh… like she'd stuck her tongue to the tip of a battery. Her nerves sang like wires. "Please. Put me in our bed."

He seemed to be ignoring her. He struggled to get to his feet, muttering darkly and wincing.

"Forgive me," he said after a time. "I didn't know… Well, I didn't know that would happen."

"Just let me lie down," she gasped. "I feel like I'll be ill." He staggered over to her and fell on a knee. He was peering into her face. "What?" she snapped.

He reached out to touch her face, but stopped short; something he'd been doing all _day_, really. "I dare not," he muttered. She stared at him and realized he looked unchanged. He was still small and boyish.

"Your body," she said.

Clef stared fiercely into her face. He grabbed her shaking hands and pressed fevered kisses to her cheeks. "I'm already damned!" he said. "Unforgivable, these transgressions of mine. But I didn't know. Pillar, I didn't _know_!"

She relaxed into his kisses. "Didn't know what? Clef, please, just take me to bed, I want to lie down."

"I will carry you."

Oh, her head pounded. She thought, with an amused giggle, how ridiculous she'd look being carried by a man who was half her size. He more or less had to drape her over his shoulders to give her proper purchase but he carried her swiftly, with that strength that never ceased to surprise her.

She wanted him to lay with her, but he put her in the bed and took to pacing nervously around the room. He reminded her of a nervous colt. "Clef, please."

"I must go," he told her, looking not quite into her eyes, but perhaps at a spot on the wall very near to them. "I will return shortly. Have no fear."

"Where are you going?"

He rubbed his mouth, pacing. "They will be out of doors. Yes. The sun is bright and the weather is fine. They will be abroad, seeking dangerous creatures and bits of adventure, here and there..."

Umi slung her arm over her eyes. When she bent her mind upon it, she could still feel his power humming through her veins. She could still taste it on her tongue. "After all of this... all you have shown me... Why do you have to leave me now?"

He shook his head violently. "Wait here for me. Please_—_I feel I can ask no more of you without... _trespassing_ but, I shall return."

She heard him exit the room and thought, _I have been trespassed upon since I first entered this land. What difference does it make now?_

_

* * *

_

Outside, Lantis watched the palace group turn and head back towards the castle. He followed the red curve of Hikaru's head until it was out of sight. Even then, he stared at the gates through which she had passed. Finally, as if coming out of a daze, he blinked and turned back to Lafarga.

"I'm sorry, Captain. What were you saying?"

The young, blond captain chuckled heartily into his hand.

"What?"

Lafarga never replied. He only continued to laugh in a jovial manner, giving his commander a slap on the back before joining the other group of soldiers. Lantis sighed. Young cullions, all of them. He made to follow them but was stopped by a sudden change in the wind.

"Kailu," said a familiar voice.

Lantis turned. "Madoshi?"

"Where is your brother?" Clef asked. He stood very stoically a few feet away from Lantis. The Kailu could see dark shadows beneath the smaller man's eyes, joined by the red circles that ringed them.

"My brother?" he asked.

"Step-brother, I should say." Clef sounded curt and pompous, as usual. "We must find him, and then you two must come with me."

"Why?"

Clef looked towards the castle. "You shall see. We must see the King and Queen."


	9. Chapter 9

**CAPTIVE AND CAPTIVATED**

**Chapter 9**

* * *

_The sky is burning;_

_I believe my soul's on fire._

Hikaru fingered the folds of her dress and listened to the Queen's stories of castle intrigues and palace politics. After a time, she picked up the small knife she'd been given and began to peel an apple. She, the queen, her Page and the Queen's young handmaidens had retired to the shade of the apple orchard for the hotter part of the afternoon. Emeraude had packed a lavish picnic for the crew to eat, but Hikaru felt herself lacking appetite. The apples seemed crisp and ripe, though, so she took a small slice and spread on it the thick buttercream flavored with cinnamon that she'd come to like so well back in the palace. She smiled to herself, wondering why the slaves were fed such rich foods if they were meant to be kept in slim, fine condition, but the luxury was much appreciated and she did not question it.

"So," Emeraude continued, "After Mokona had chosen me to fill the place of the Pillar, I was bestowed with special powers to uphold the land. That is how our system remains stable, my dear." Hikaru blinked up at her and nodded, remembering that she was supposed to be feigning interest. The Queen smiled. "I've been Queen here for many years; too many for a lady to admit aloud without shame. Zagato and I married many years later, and together we have created a strong nation that none can penetrate." She took a moment to look proud and pensive. "There are many in this world that covet the Pillar system. We've had our struggles in the past trying to keep it our own. Oh, but don't let that trouble you, darling, you're quite safe with us. Cephiro has been free from conflict for centuries now!"

Hikaru only smiled and nibbled on her apple slice. She remembered that Eagle, the pale-haired, charming second-in-command to the Price, had claimed to be from a neighboring country—oh damn, she'd forgotten the name again—which had an eye for the ruling systems of Cephiro. She squinted. 'Many centuries ago.' Just how old _was_ the Queen?

"Everyone in this world seems to be much, much older than they look," she mused aloud.

"It is magic," replied one of the young handmaidens who sat closest to Hikaru. She was modest and quiet as a mouse, as seemed to be all her companions while in the company of the Queen. "Some are more powerful than others, and the most powerful can look any way they want." She paused, looking cautiously at the Queen but Emeraude only smiled.

"Speak freely, Maren, we're not in the palace today."

The handmaiden nodded. "Well, as I was saying, the very powerful people can choose their own physical forms. I do not have overly strong magical abilities, but since I am pledged to the Queen as her servant, I entered into a magical contract with the Creator and am thus immortal until the Queen casts out my service, or until another ruler is chosen."

"So, how old _are_ you?" Hikaru asked.

Maren paused thoughtfully. "Well, now that you ask… Hmm, I haven't thought about it in a while. Corinne, how old am I?"

The handmaiden sitting across from them swallowed her apple slice and said, "One hundred and four. You're seventeen years older than me."

Hikaru almost choked on her apple and coughed. "_One hundred years old?_"

Emeraude giggled. "You young girls put me to shame. You won't find me admitting _my_ age."

"One hundred years is nothing," said one of the other maids whose name Hikaru did not know. "Have you ever met the Madoshi? He is rumored to be older than these very hills."

"Not so," said another girl. "His age has a number to it. I think I once heard that he was around 500."

"Oh no, even older than that."

"The Madoshi is around 700 years old," the Queen corrected. "I cannot say the exact number of years, though."

Hikaru gaped. _How_ could anyone ever live to see so many years?

"I couldn't bear the thought of living forever," Hikaru said. "It seems like it'd be so… _boring._" She blushed and quickly said, "Though, I'm sure you all live wonderful lives, being as old as you are…"

The girls all giggled behind their hands and Hikaru found herself smiling, too.

"You, too, could live to be ages old," Emeraude told her softly, "If you stay in this land."

Hikaru frowned. _Again, someone has insinuated that I might not be here forever. In fact, she almost sounds as if it's my choice._

"But, I have no magic," she said. "Could I be taught?"

"I suppose you could. If you were trained by the right person, you could be as powerful as you wanted. This is a land of the _will,_ my girl. The power of your will would ultimately determine your fate."

The sound of hooves startled the women. Lantis trotted into the grove, halting his horse a few feet away from them. The animal swished its great, black tail and Hikaru felt her insides chill.

"Brother-in-law!" Emeraude exclaimed. "Through training your Knights, I take it?"

"Yes." Lantis glanced down at Hikaru and the girl looked away, blushing furiously. Maren squeezed her hand and giggled. "Sister, I was just approached by Madoshi Clef. Apparently he desires your presence. And mine."

"Really? Why so?"

"He did not say."

Emeraude sighed and smoothed out her skirts. "Very well. I'll retire to the castle in a moment. I'm loath to leave the warmth and sunshine today."

Lantis dismounted swiftly; very gracefully. "The weather is indeed lovely." He scratched his head and looked down at the ground. He really hated making casual conversation. He turned to his slave. "Hikaru."

The redhead bowed and mumbled, "Prince Lantis." She noticed that she began to shake. Damn that intolerable Prince. It had been days since she last saw him. Was she doomed forever to be babysat by the rest of the royalty while her Prince went gallivanting all over Cephiro, doing whatever it was that he did for days at a time?

"You look well," she heard him say. It took a tremendous amount of strength to lift her eyes to his. They were black and unreadable, as always.

"Of course she looks well," Emeraude quipped. "I give the best of care to all my lovelies."

"I thank you, Sister." Lantis' tone suggested otherwise.

Hikaru would have liked to say something, but she wasn't sure whether or not she should in the presence of the Queen. She didn't want to act presumptuous. After all, Lantis said they must act as Master and slave in the presence of others. She merely looked dolefully at him, clenching her fingers in the folds of her dress. Lantis returned the look, casting his usual calm, impenetrable demeanor.

Emeraude saw all of this. The two of them studied one another as if they were afraid the other would bite. It was adorable, really. She only wish one of them would open their heart to the other soon.

"Well," she cut in, gathering her voluminous skirts. "The hour is getting late. Come ladies; escort me to the castle."

Hikaru started to rise and Emeraude put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her back to the ground. "Not _you_, my girl. Your master has you now." She winked.

"Highness," Hikaru started.

"Goodbye, young Miss!" said Maren. She took Hikaru's basket from her and departed in a whirl of billowing skirts behind the Queen and other maidens.

Hikaru puffed out her cheeks in agitation and watched the stroll out from under the cover of the trees. She stood and glanced askance at Lantis. He stayed rooted to the spot, petting his horse absent mindedly with one hand. She couldn't think of a single thing to say to him. He made her so _nervous_ now. His presence induced a fever in her, as it had the other night. Her face flushed and she suddenly felt very warm.

"You seem in good spirits," he observed. "It seems my sister's presence does you good."

_If you only knew,_ she thought bitterly. "We've been enjoying the sun today. Too much. This shade is nice. I picked the spot myself."

Lantis looked at her; one delicate hand against the tree, the other absently twirling the ribbons of her skirts, looking out over the field. She'd tied her hair back for the day. It was done in a delicate pair of plaits that fell over her shoulder. He'd never seen her with her hair up before and thought that it was quite beautiful.

"Hikaru," he began. "I'd like to escort you back to the castle. I have something to attend to, but afterward, I'd like to have the pleasure of your company for the evening."

"And for the night?" she finished. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the color creep into his cheeks. She was suddenly shocked at her own daring.

Lantis sighed and joined her beside the tree. "I requested your company for other reasons as well. I know my sister-in-law and her compulsions. I like not the idea of your in her company for over-long."

"Oh." Now it was _her_ turn to blush. So, he knew all about how Emeraude treated her female slaves, and how she treated her? "Um."

"Her appetites are… diverse," he began. "She and my brother share a strong bond of love, but they both dabble outside the marriage as they see fit. They've worked out their own little pleasure system, I suppose. But Emeraude has always favored the beautiful young men, and the girls." He observed her steadily reddening face and said, "Oh, I'm sure she was able to reign in her desires. She's never encroached upon my bonds with any slave. She's very careful about that." Hikaru noted that he sounded bitter.

"I see." She could really think of nothing better to say.

He shifted his feet. "I apologize if she embarrassed you, or caused you injury."

"Oh no," she replied. "She… she didn't whip me or anything. She was kind. But, she definitely made her feelings known." Hikaru rubbed her bare arms, shivering, remembering that dark bedroom with its gilt bedcovers and ceilings stretching upwards into black infinity. And that intolerable fireplace, burning the fire that cast Emeraude in that frightening shadowy way…

He nodded. "As I suspected. Well, I apologize again, but I cannot tell her who she can and cannot summon to her bedchamber. She is the Queen. It's not my place to command her."

"Ah." She considered his words. In her mind, she still saw Emeraude, like some grinning imp, gazing at her from her pillows with her whole body on display behind her too-sheer nightgown. Hikaru shuddered. "So in this land, anyone can have a go at anyone else's slave?"

Lantis blinked. "No. Unless the master gives consent, such boundaries are never crossed. There is a system of respect in place."

"It just doesn't apply to royalty?"

"Once again, my sister-in-law is Queen and, though you are my slave, I cannot command her."

"So what's to stop her from doing whatever she wants to me in the future? Or even worse… what if the King decides he wants me as well? Both are free to do whatever they like to me. Or to any slave here. My two Earth friends might be called on soon to spend a long night in Emeraude's chamber someday, and there's nothing anyone can do about it."

"My sister upset you?"

"Not exactly. I mean, like I said, she was very kind to me, but…" She pulled away from the tree and walked on shaking legs out into the sunlight. The shadowy grove had turned chilly, all of a sudden. "It's just unsettling."

Lantis followed her, walking slowly through the soft grass, picking his way among the patches of wildflowers. "How so?"

Hikaru sat down in a patch of clover. She flattened the folds of her dress nervously. "I—I find it very hard to talk to you."

She glanced up at him and saw that he was looking at her as if she'd spoken in another language. "Pardon?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but drew her knees to her chest and took to pulling up tufts of clover with her fingers. "Well… you're rather intimidating." He said nothing and she sighed. "Well, I just can't see how I would be able to convey my feelings to you. You're a Prince; a Prince of a strange world that revolves around _pleasure slavery_. This must all be so normal to you, but to me it's the opposite. I mean, surely you must realize how difficult it is for me to adjust to this situation. But how can I make you understand? I'm fourteen years old, almost fifteen. I'm a—" _Virgin. _She found the word difficult to say, for some reason. "Well, I've never even kissed a boy, and now I'm thrown in this world where I'm a prisoner, pledged to a man that I have to… do _that_ stuff with—"

"We are all adults here," he interrupted. "You can use the technical jargon."

Hikaru was suddenly angry. "Don't mock me. But, have it your way. I'm supposed to have _sex_ with you. Not by my choice. I know you're a man and you're probably ages old, just like everyone else here, and you've never been made to do a thing in your life that you didn't want to do—"

"What makes you think that?"

"Oh," Hikaru sighed heavily, frustrated. She wanted nothing more than to bury her face in the clover and sink into the ground. "Just try to understand my situation. I'm afraid. This is all new to me. But it really isn't even about that. I could adjust to that stuff, I really could. Given time, I'd be fine. The idea of being your girl frightens me, but I could handle that if I didn't also have to fear being _shared_. It's hard enough having to comfortably share your bed. I don't want to lie awake nights wondering whether or not the Queen or the King is going to call on me and do God knows what with me the next morning!"

Lantis shook his head slowly and knelt beside her. "You think I like it any more than you do?"

Hikaru shook a rebellious tear from her lashes. "I guess not."

"You surprise me," he said quietly. She gave him a curious, unguarded look. Her eyes were hollow-looking and red-rimmed from much crying. She must have been crying all night. "Your words, usually so careful and quiet, are now forceful. I wonder why."

"Oh." Hikaru blushed again. "I'm sorry."

"You're forgiven. And in response to what you've said, I am aware of your plight. I do realize your vulnerability. All I feel I can do is apologize, for my sister once again, and for myself."

Hikaru stared down at her slippers and said nothing. She felt tears brimming again and she swiped at them angrily. There really _was_ nothing she could do. About _anything. _She felt frustrated and impotent.

"Don't get me wrong," she said quietly. "I do appreciate the Queen. She's gone to great lengths to take care of me. She likes me a lot, for some reason. But, well, I guess I'll just have to get used to the idea of being passed around like a peace-pipe." She shook her head. "Just like with Eagle, too."

"Eagle?"

"Yes, he—" Hikaru clapped a hand over her mouth, shocked at herself._ Oh, no. Would Lantis be angry with me for that?_

Lantis stood, removed his cloak, spread it over the grass and sat beside her. "Eagle has taken to you? I'm not surprised."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be a tattle-tale!"

Lantis studied her for several long seconds. As usual, his dark face was unreadable. Finally, he said, "That was what Eagle wanted to speak with me about, wasn't it? I recall the day. He looked at you very fondly."

Hikaru felt destitute. She certainly didn't want to get Eagle in trouble.

"What did he do to you?"

"Nothing more than what Emeraude did to me, so, not very much." _I'll leave out his kisses, I suppose,_ she thought to herself.

"Well," said Lantis as he stretched out his long legs. "Eagle has a roving eye. He loves women, much like my young brother-in-law. I can guess at what happened. He took you on an outing and became enamored of you. But beyond that, I cannot say. What did he want to speak with me about?"

"He was going to…ask you if you could give me to him."

"Why?"

"Because I told him how little attention you paid to me, and that I felt lonely and unwanted." She bit her lip and looked away. "I'm sorry… it's how I felt. I wouldn't have minded the idea either, you know. I really _was_ lonely, and he was so kind and gentle."

"No doubt," Lantis answered darkly.

"He didn't do anything to me, though. He wanted to, of course, but…" She sighed. "We were out in the forest, at some old castle ruin. I was exploring and then he said he suddenly had to leave. I guess I'm glad now that we did." She began to tremble. "I'm sorry. If Eagle asks you about it, it'll be half my fault. I told him I wanted to go to him, rather than be with you. You ignored me."

Lantis looked grave. "Are you rebuking me?"

"No."

"I've made my apologies for that. Did I not tend to you afterward?"

"You did, yes, but after that, I didn't see you again until today. It's not fair." She sniffled. "I feel like I'm going crazy, thinking it's an injustice not to be actively performing my _duties_, since I don't like this world or anything in it, but the other two girls practically never leave their master's sides. Fuu is locked up with Prince Ferio day and night, and Umi is always being made to do weird things with the Master Mage, like she's his servant. I've heard the gossip in the Slave Halls," she added.

Lantis made no reply. He observed the clover for a time, then motioned for her to sit on his cloak. She did so, reluctantly, scooting only a little closer to him. He reached out and touched the wispy tip of her braid. "What would you have me do?" he asked quietly.

Hikaru's lip quivered. Her whole _body_ quivered. She wiped at her tears again and shrugged miserably.

"Well," he began, toying with her braid, "I've already requested that you accompany me for the night. Do you not wish to do so? If not, and if you truly do not desire my company, I suppose it would be only fitting to grant Eagle his request."

"No, I don't want Eagle," she said quickly. She was stunned when she realized she meant it.

"I see," he replied. His gaze, when she finally met it, stirred her. It had so much life to it. For a brief moment, he didn't appear to have the blank eyes of a statue. They had a dark, obsidian pulse to them. "So, then, what will you do tonight?

Hikaru scoffed. She stared at him, feeling dumbfounded, opening and closing her mouth like a fish. Finally, she stammered, "Well, I—I'm going to stay with you. _Of course _I'm staying with you tonight!"

He held her gaze for a moment longer then shifted it to her hair. He took the end of her braid, studied its fine, wispy tip and pressed it against his mouth. "As you wish." He gazed out at the fields and the corner of his mouth quirked. When he looked at her, he almost smiled.

"Lantis!" she hissed. All she could do was stare stupidly at him. What had just happened?

_In the question of Eagle or Lantis, who _do_ I want? God, what has this place and its magic done to me? I must be out of my mind…_

She watched the way her hair played upon his lips, blushed and said quietly, "Are you angry with me about Eagle?"

"No. Eagle is a charming man. I can see why his smile and his pretty face could melt any woman's heart. However, be assured that he is not a faithful man, at least not to women. He's gone through dozens of slaves and I anticipate that he will go through dozens more. I don't think you would have been very happy with him. You may indeed have had your heart broken, my girl."

"Oh, really." She wasn't sure whether or not to believe him—Eagle was just so _kind—_but she'd never been given any reason to think that Lantis would lie to her. He was tugging gently at the band tying her braid, trying to undo it.

"Well," he began, "I have business with the Madoshi. I'll escort you to the castle. Please, come with me."

"You won't punish Eagle, will you?" she asked, trying not to sound too worried. "At least, not too harshly?"

Lantis stood up and extended his hand. "I thought not of it. What Eagle does is not my concern. However, if he raises the issue again, I'll be sure to make clear my stand on the issue."

Hikaru looked at his outstretched hand. It was massive; it would swallow hers. "Which is?"

He tugged at her hand and pulled her to her feet. As he gingerly picked stray bits of clover from the folds of her dress, he said, "Because you are mine, and if I don't have to, I refuse to share you with anyone."

The wind picked up. Hikaru tucked stray wisps of hair behind her ear and blushed beautifully. Lantis kissed her hand and almost smiled again.

_You are, I'm learning,_

_The key to my desire._

* * *

Umi stood on the balcony of Clef's chambers, letting the wind tussle her long hair. Clef had been gone for quite some time. It didn't concern her much, though. She was thoroughly distracted by the pain in her hand. It lay against the stones of the castle wall, and there she studied it. Her skin blistered strangely and pained her. It throbbed. Something dark was growing beneath the skin on the back of her hand in the vague shape of a triangle.

* * *

"Where would you prefer to wait for me? I apologize for having to leave you, but I don't think this will take long. I can take you to the Slave Hall, if you wish. Or, you may wait in my chambers. Whatever your preference is, lady."

Hikaru gave only half a distracted shrug. She was busy peering around at the high-walled gardens around her. Lantis had led her into a massive courtyard. The sun, just beginning to slip against the horizon in the first stages of sunset, reflected orange and pink on the smooth waters of the fountains around her. She reached out to a wall to touch the ivy crawling across its etched surface. "This is a pretty place," she said.

"This courtyard is for my own private use. I often come here to reflect. When the moon is full, as it is now, it is indeed quite beautiful."

"Are those yours, too?" she asked, pointing to a far corner of the courtyard. It was rimmed with hedges as tall as trees. She could see a slim entrance through the tightly-wound bushes. "It looks almost like a maze."

"It is a maze, though it is not exclusively mine. That maze hedges nearly a quarter of the south side of the castle and spans the length of the fields and hills for nearly a mile. The entrance you see is merely one of many. Very few people ever have the time or energy to make their way through the maze from its main entrance all the way over here."

"I see. Thanks for the nice detour. But I thought we were going to your rooms?"

"These are my rooms."

Hikaru stuck out her lower lip. "These don't look like your rooms at all. They don't look anything like the rooms I spent those nights in with you." A slight heat rose in her cheeks as she finished the sentence, but Lantis paid her the courtesy of not meeting her eyes and furthering the embarrassment. "That room was several floors up. With a balcony."

"Those were not my chambers," Lantis replied. "I use those rooms when I entertain slaves. These are my private chambers. I do not usually allow slaves here."

Hikaru stared up at him, bewildered. He'd once told her that he wouldn't treat her like a slave; that he'd treat her as a woman, with respect. At least, he would when no one who mattered was watching. Was this his atonement for his poor treatment of her in the past?

The rooms she'd shared with him previously, which had seemed already huge and luxurious, were like broom closets compared to this room. Hikaru was awed. She felt very nearly embarrassed, staring around like a commoner. _Country come to town,_ she thought. Her family was successful, but they'd never been wealthy. She'd never so much as even stayed overnight in a hotel half as nice as this place. She coughed and took to studying the carpet.

"I'll send for women to attend you. In the meantime, please wait here. I shouldn't be long." He was staring at her again and it made her fidget uncomfortably. If she met his eyes, she just knew she'd start blushing again.

Lantis blinked and reached out to touch her face. She stiffened and very nearly dreaded the contact. His finger touched the corner of her mouth softly. "What?" she asked. Lantis drew his finger away, staring at it. Hikaru wiped at her mouth and tasted cinnamon. Oh, how embarrassing. She'd had food on her mouth all this time and never noticed it. How long had Lantis been staring at it?

He tasted it and said, "Messy eater, are you?"

"No, not really," she mumbled. She heard him exhale sharply from his nose and assumed it was some form of laugh. His fingers at her back startled her. "What? What is it?"

"Please," he said quietly, "Allow me to undress you."

She pulled away. "Why? I've been allowed to be dressed all day! It's drafty in here, please don't—"

"I'm sorry, but inside castle walls, you must follow proper slave etiquette, no matter how your master decides to treat you outside." He pulled at the ribbons of her bodice and untied her corset. He did it swiftly and deftly, as if he had much experience with women and their dressings.

He gently prodded her arms so that she would lift them above her head and lifted the corset off of her. His hands smoothed her sides before hooking the waistline of her skirt and pulling it down.

Hikaru closed her eyes and breathed a tense sigh. She did her best to relax. When Lantis' hand touched her bare skin, she remembered how warm he was, that night on his balcony. That night, she felt as if she were sitting in the middle of the fires that were burning hundreds of feet below while she lay sprawled in his lap. Now when he touched her, she felt fever returning.

"I'm sorry," he said, mistaking the flushing of her skin for embarrassment, "But this dress, lovely though it is, hides your beauty from me. I won't have that."

"Now who's speaking forcefully?" she muttered to herself. She swooned, shivering against the chilly air of the room against her flushing skin. Now she stood nude before him. Her long hair hung over one of her shoulders, while the rest of it was still wound back in a braid.

He was staring at her again with that heated, penetrating look in his eyes. Slowly, he unsnapped the hooks that held his armor in place. She flinched at the loud clanging that ensued when they fell to the floor around his feet. With the armor gone, though, he didn't seem quite as massive. She released the breath she'd been holding and blinked stupidly at him, feeling like a cow being led to the slaughter.

The band in her hair was soon removed with one flick of Lantis' wrist. "Yes, I like you better this way."

She licked her lips. "You think I'm beautiful?"

"Very." He picked her up gingerly and carried her to his bed. _Now_ she felt hot. Her skin was slicked with a fine sheen of sweat. She would have slipped right through his arms had he not been wearing his cotton undershirt.

"Oh," she sighed against his shoulder. "I feel like I'm about to faint."

"I seem to induce that in you."

"Seems so." He laid her on the bed and knelt beside her. Hikaru felt in a full swoon. Her breathing was deep, but quiet, and she looked blearily at Lantis through a thick haze.

He took one of her trembling hands and pressed his lips to it. "You know what they call that, don't you?"

She moaned and pressed her other hand to her forehead. "What?"

"Lust."

_Ah,_ she thought relishing the feel of his mouth on her skin. _Is this what it's like, then?_ She was rather enjoying his caresses. This must have been what lovers felt. She stretched out her legs and curled her toes, letting the sensations take hold.

Lantis cast long, appreciative looks over her body. "As much as I hate to leave you this way, I must." He leaned down to her face, and when she turned her head to look at him, his lips caught hers.

For just a moment, Hikaru's mind cleared and she stared wide-eyed at Lantis' face inches away from her own. The fever took her down again quickly, though, and with a vengeance. She closed her eyes and sighed contentedly. The erotic sensations which had been sweeping down her spine and through her legs and fingertips concentrated in her chest and abdomen. She felt them bubbling beneath her skin, broiling there, like water over a roaring fire. Her arm snaked around his neck, causing him to fall heavily against her and pressing her down into the bed.

He traced the curve of his lip with her tongue, and Hikaru slipped into semi-consciousness. Pictures painted in her mind were so bizarre. Flaming landscapes, burning fields and dripping, blood-red moons wheeling about overhead. Her heart pounded fiercely beneath her breast, sounding loud as thunder in her mind. But it seemed _slow._ Surely her heartbeat was slowing significantly. Each beat dragged longer and longer, thrumming with more intensity. Soon, it no longer sounded like her heart; it was like a deep gong and it became louder and louder with each blast, right from her chest.

She didn't remember the feeling of his hands on her, or of how wonderful his weight was on her body, but when she opened her eyes with a start, the cacophony of noise inside her head immediately ceased and she saw him sitting on the edge of the bed. "I'll return," he said to her. She blinked at him as he buttoned his shirt and stood. "Wait for me here, please."

"Oh…k," she whispered.

He was gone just as quickly. Hikaru closed her eyes, wondering at the sensation of warmth that continued to roil inside her. Her toes and fingered still tingled nicely. She placed her hand on her chest, feeling her normal heartbeat and pondering it. Hadn't she been in the middle of cardiac arrest a moment before? Perhaps it was only the magic of this land, spinning her into delirium every time she was under distress.

Hikaru was never sure, even years later, just how long she'd lain there like that. All she could remember was staring at the wall, at the candelabra affixed to it, and how all the candles in it had completely melted away into stiff stalactites of wax hanging down from their bronze foundations.

* * *

It was late in the evening, and Ferio woke from his long nap feeling drowsy and stiff. Lately, no matter how much he slept, he always seemed to feel so very fatigued. He was quite drained. However, one look at his blonde beauty lying next to him gave him a small measure of strength. He rubbed his eyes and looked at her. He could only vaguely see the shape of her face in the darkness of the room, but she was silent and still, deep in sleep. The ache in his groin reminded him of just how badly he wanted her and how little success he'd had with it thus far. He really couldn't bring himself to do it. Not yet. What was wrong with him? He was acting strangely…

A sharp knock at the door roused him to quick anger. How dare he be disturbed?

Very quietly, so as not to wake Fuu, Ferio slipped out of the bed and donned a pair of plain cotton pants. He opened the door and snapped, "What?"

A soldier greeted him, bowing low. "Forgive me, Prince Ferio, but I've been informed that the Madoshi requires your presence at this time."

Ferio narrowed his eyes. "What does Clef want with me?"

"The Madoshi was very vague, Highness. He only requests your company with urgency."

Ferio scratched his head, sighing. "I hope he doesn't want to discuss that infernal rip in the Veil with me again. As if it has anything to do with me."

The soldier seemed rather distraught. If his Prince would not come with him, he feared the nasty tongue-lashing he'd receive from the Master Mage. "Highness, please—"

"Very well!" Ferio said waspishly. He snatched up a shirt and a set of semi-dress robes and threw them over his shoulders. "I hope the Madoshi doesn't expect a royal entrance. I've just woken up, you know."

"Yes, forgive me, Highne—"

"Enough! It's not _your_ fault. No need to apologize." Ferio rubbed his forehead, glaring down the hall. He wished he wasn't quite so surly; there was no need to be so rude to his poor soldier. "Where is he?"

"Here," said Clef's voice from the darkness of the hall, matching the nastiness in Ferio's own voice. Ferio turned to see the Mage walking swiftly towards him.

"What's this all about, Clef? I planned on retiring quietly for the night, you know."

"I wouldn't disturb your little _romantic evening_ if it weren't important, Ferio." Clef stopped in front of the soldier and cast a dark look on him. "Did you get lost on your way to the Prince's chambers, young man? I've been waiting downstairs for quite some time."

The soldier colored and averted his eyes. "Apologies, Madoshi-sama."

Clef made a dismissive gesture. "Anyway, Ferio, I need you to come with me. I seek an audience with the King and Queen. You must be in attendance as well."

Ferio yawned into his hand. "Why?"

"You'll see when we enter the Grand Hall. It's a rather long story that I don't want to recount twice."

"You'll have to do better than that," the young Prince scoffed. "I don't want to be dragged into another long debate with you about the Veil between the worlds and its great fissure. _Yes_, we all know it's there, and it's bad, oh my. Doesn't concern me, Madoshi."

"As _Prince_ of this land, I should think it concerns you quite a bit!" Clef retorted. "This land is in your hands as well as your sister's, Ferio! But that's not the issue here; at least, not quite. It's a matter of some urgency. I assure you that you'll be returned to your pretty little slave before the night is out and are you _getting all of this, soldier, or am I speaking too fast for you?"_ Clef turned a scathing look on the soldier who'd remained rooted in his spot. The young man snapped to attention and bowed out of the hall.

Ferio closed the door behind him. "Lead the way. If I've found that you've wasted my time tonight though Clef, I'll be very unhappy about it."

"Your happiness is not high on my list of priorities, Majesty. Come."

"Oh, yes, always we must scurry to do your will…" Ferio followed glumly, hoping that Fuu would sleep peacefully until he returned.

"Spare me your insolence right now, Ferio. I'm in no mood for it. And, wait… Ferio, are you prematurely aging?"

Clef was giving the Prince a strange look. Ferio ran his hands through his hair and, out of the corner of his eye, saw something falling to the floor. It looked like a great, green clump of hair. Ferio frowned. "Not so far as I'm aware…it appears to be a feather."

Clef scoffed. "Well, Prince, what you and your slave do in your private time is no concern of—" He turned sharply and stared at Ferio's hand. "—mine." He strode forward and snatched the feather from Ferio's hand. It was long and green and, in the glow of torchlight that illuminated the halls, fine seams of gold glinted throughout the plumage. Clef gaped in horror.

"_Ferio…"_

"What?'

The Madoshi dashed past the Prince and threw open the wide doors to his chambers. Inside, candles were lit and a young servant girl was milling about the room, bending over and plucking a myriad of feathers from the floor, muttering under her breath about the young Master and his slovenly ways.

Ferio pushed past Clef and said, "You there! How dare you disturb my girl! Can you not see she was sleeping?"

"_Silence!_" Clef hissed. He stalked over to the bed and threw back the sheets that covered Fuu. The young blonde stirred fitfully in her sleep but did not waken. She was literally _covered_ in a blanket of loose feathers. They stuck in her hair and to the sheets she slept on. Clef grabbed a fistful of them and thrust them into Ferio's face. "_What are these!"_

Ferio stood agape. "I don't know. Perhaps I left the window open and a bird flew in…"

"A _bird?_" Clef repeated wildly. "You could say that, but it would be blasphemy to do so!"

Ferio merely scratched his head again and stared at his slave. "Speaking of strange occurrences, I saw something disturbing the other night. Forgive me for neglecting to tell you, but—The Sky Shrine is alive. It issues an unholy glow."

Clef's fist, still closed tightly around the clump of feathers, began to shake violently. He seethed. "You…_neglected…_" He swore loudly and yanked Ferio from the room. "Come with me _now. _That's not a request!"

The Prince stumbled along after the Madoshi, swearing colorfully under his breath and twisting one of the green feathers between his fingers. He studied it closely and felt something trigger his memory. Green and gold. His eyes narrowed.

Windam.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: **This story's drawing to a close. Please do enjoy this second-to-last installment. (possibly third-to-last)

* * *

**CAPTIVE AND CAPTIVATED**

**Chapter 10**

Umi dozed fitfully on the bed. Her dreams were haunted by serpents which wove and wound around her. They were cold and slimy, drowning her with their bodies and in the icy cold water in which they swam. She saw visions of underwater pillars, of a blazing, golden light and of boulders cracking and falling from underwater cliffs.

_No,_ her sleeping mind said. _I don't want to see those things._

Through cracks in her subconscious, she could see clawed hands clutching at rocks. Something black, with glowing eyes, pulled itself out of the crevice. _Then awaken,_ it said._ But you cannot escape me in your dreams, girl from another world. _

_No, please._

_You and I are one._

Her heart seemed to expand beneath her breast. It beat sharply, coldly, pumping ice water through her veins. Her skin was coming alive with electricity.

"Ouch," she said aloud.

_Embrace me, as I embrace you._ The dragon crept toward her. _Become one with me._

_No, stay away!_

_I have found you, warrior from the Other-World._

Umi sat bolt upright in a panic. She wept, clutching white hands to her face that were crawling and writhing with twisting, black, snake-like images. They hissed and burned their way across her arms, around her legs…

"No," she cried. "Please, leave me alone. I want to go home!"

After her waking mind became sharper and more focused, Umi took her hands away from her eyes. They were bare and smooth as they had ever been. No creatures crawled beneath their smooth surface.

"What horrible dreams," she said. "This is Clef's doing. It's _his_ fault. Ever since he pushed me into that water…"

She slid from the bed and shivered in the chilly castle air. She felt drained and ill—she needed to eat something, though she did not feel hungry. On the contrary, she felt very full. Not in her stomach, of course, but in her entire abdomen. She felt a burning, pulsing something inside her. It was a welling feeling, a feeling of being slowly filled.

"Blech," she groaned aloud, rubbing her bare arms. She was afraid to look at them and see the hallucinations of the black snake marks again. But of course they wouldn't be there… it was only magic. Cephiro was nothing _but_ magic. A dream and an illusion. She had to get home.

_I have found you, warrior from the Other-World._

She shook her head. Clef would be returning soon, he'd said. His face still disturbed her. He looked to be in a wild panic. He very nearly _fled_ from her.

She was startled when the door opened and a young soldier walked in. She sighed. "So, Clef sent you to babysit me, I take it?"

The young man looked surly at the mention of the Master Mage. "You are my charge, yes."

"Hmph. Well, you don't look a day older than me. Some soldiers they have around this place…"

"Pleasure slave to the Madoshi or no," he growled, "You're not allowed to use such tones with a Cephran, even a foot soldier. Watch your tongue, Other-World trash." He stepped forward. The Madoshi had indeed done wrong by him, humiliating him so in the hall. He'd make the old man pay for it, and pay dearly.

"Trash?" Umi gasped. "I happen to come from one of the wealthiest families in Tokyo! I go to the most prestigious all-girl's schools—"

"That doesn't matter here," he interrupted, moving too close for comfort. "You're bound now, pretty one. In fact, the Madoshi is not the only man in this castle whose blood you've stirred." He smiled. "I've had my eye on you for some time. Do you not recognize me? I myself plucked you from the sky."

Umi recoiled from him as if he'd handed her a venomous snake. "I can't say it's nice to see you again. And keep your distance; as if I'd ever stoop to look on _you._"

The soldier glared again. He looked toward the door and listened. No one could be heard for miles down the corridors. (and surely it must really have been miles, in that huge place) He leered at her. "Well, it looks like we're all alone."

"Get away from me," Umi gasped.

"No. I've got you all to myself, pretty little Other-Worlder. I'm sure the Madoshi wouldn't mind. You've fallen out of his favor." He snatched at her wrist and held it tightly in thick, armored gloves.

"What are you doing? How dare you!" Umi struggled to free her wrist from the tightening fingers of the soldier. She glared up at him. "The Madoshi never gave you permission to have me. He'll kill you for this!"

The solider merely chuckled. "I know for a fact that the Madoshi has never sampled your loveliness. Your evil tongue has dampened the fire that once burned for you. You're damaged goods, my pretty."

"Damaged goods? Why you filthy—!"

The solider pulled her wrist and dragged her over to the bed. "I've studied your beauty for some time now, my pet. I shall have you, and then when I'm finished, I suppose you'll be put up for auction again. The King and Queen will decide what's to be done with you." He grinned. "I saw the way the Madoshi looked as he left this room. I was in the hall. He looked as if he couldn't get away from you fast enough. Do you want to know what I read in his face?"

"No!"

"Disappointment."

Umi trembled violently. "No, that's not true. The—the Madoshi… he likes me…"

"No longer, pretty. No longer." He took the thin fabric of her dress in his free hand and tore it away from her body. She screamed and collapsed against the wall.

_That can't be true!_ she thought miserably as the soldier laid rough hands on her body. _No… not with the way he looks at me; the way he held me today—unwelcome as it was, he would never look at me the way he does if he didn't care for me on some level…_

His words in the garden came to her mind and her pretty face contorted.

"_Do you love me?"_

"_It wouldn't matter, if I did."_

And were his touches, his kisses, his caresses, so very unwelcome?

She wasn't sure of anything anymore.

* * *

Lantis entered the Grand Hall and saw his brother sitting in his throne. "Where is Emeraude, brother?"

"On her way," replied the King. He looked stoic and forbidding as ever; even more so, since he was summoned to the Hall without being told why. "More importantly, where is the Madoshi?"

Lantis looked around the throne room, confused. "I do not know. I spoke to him outside only minutes ago. Perhaps he went to retrieve Ferio."

Zagato sighed. "I don't understand why the Madoshi couldn't request my audience himself."

"He seemed distraught, though was making a great effort to mask it."

"This secrecy, along with the confusion over the rift between the worlds, causes me to wonder. Since the raid in the other world, the mood in the Palace has been strained. I wonder if some evil is leaking through the veil."

"It's possible," said Lantis, "Though I was never under the impression that Hikaru's world was evil."

Zagato frowned at his younger brother. He studied him coldly before rising from his throne. "Hikaru," he repeated. He approached his brother and said, "Your slave?"

Lantis stepped back. His brother's face made him desire just a bit more distance. "Yes."

"On familiar terms with her so soon? Strange, since I have yet to see the two of you together."

Lantis averted his eyes. He knew what Zagato would say next and he most certainly didn't want to hear it. He had a hard enough time coming to grips with it himself.

"You know the laws," said Zagato. "There's to be no love between a slave and master; only complete submission and dominance. Her love for you is irrelevant. Your love for _her_, however, is forbidden, and you know it."

"Brother—"

"If you weren't capable of properly handling a slave, you should not have opted to take her in the first place, Lantis."

"I would not have, had Ferio not pestered me so about it."

"It is forbidden!" Zagato spoke quietly, but his voice had amazing resonance to it, tolling like a great bell in the vast, empty throne room.

Lantis flinched and spoke before he could think, regretting it almost immediately. "If I recall correctly, it was you, and not I, who took his own slave as a wife and made her Queen."

Zagato slapped his brother, hard. "_My _transgressions are not your concern, nor are they at issue here, brother! And need I remind you that it was _Mokona_ and not I who selected Emeraude as the Pillar candidate _long_ after I'd taken her as a slave? Such things cannot be helped. Do not bring my own sins to light simply to mask your own."

Lantis looked away. As much as he hated to admit it, Zagato was right. Loving your slave was forbidden; it undermined the entire system. Lesser men had been punished greatly for it in the past. It was not until recently that he realized he _did _love the girl, much more so than he ever had any other slave. And Pillar, he didn't know _why._ Why?

It was on the tip of his tongue to make a snide comment about Ferio and his great attachment to the yellow-haired slave, but it would have been childish and impudent, so he refrained.

"Zagato," said Emeraude's soft voice. The pair turned to see her settling onto her throne. "Do not chide our poor Lantis. He is distraught, can you not see? I don't blame him for adoring the girl. I myself am quite fond of her."

"Highness—"

"No," She interrupted, holding up a hand to silence Lantis. "That topic will be broached another day. I doubt the Madoshi requested out presence for that. Husband, come; sit beside me and wait for him."

Zagato frowned at his brother and sat himself beside the Queen. Emeraude sighed and took his hand. "Where is Clef?"

"He approaches," said Lantis. "I sense his presence."

As if on cue, Clef burst through the doors to the throne room, dragging Prince Ferio by the arm. The look on his face caused Emeraude to jump to her feet.

"Madoshi! What is the matter? You look as if you'd seen a phantom!"

Clef pushed Ferio forward. The young Prince stumbled next to Lantis, sneering over his shoulder. "Look how the royalty is treated, sister! Mage Clef should have more respect!"

"Silence, Ferio!" Zagato snapped. "Madoshi—what is the meaning of this? Tell us why you've summoned us here."

"Of course." Clef shot Ferio a nasty look before approaching the throne. "It concerns my slave, Highness, and Ferio's." He knelt before Emeraude, speaking in a quiet voice to her, rather than to Zagato. "I have witnessed things, Highness, things which may answer a few questions regarding the tear in the Veil."

"Why not question Clef's treatment of his slave as well, Brother?" Lantis said petulantly. "He's brought you the issue himself."

Ferio frowned. "What do you mean?"

His interest piqued, Clef turned to Lantis. "What is the issue with your girl?"

"I have been accused of breaking the laws regarding slavery."

Zagato gestured silence "Not another word about it, Lantis!"

The Kailu whispered to Ferio in a low voice, "See that you don't get too attached to your slave, brother-in-law. I do believe Zagato means to remove them from our keeping if he suspects that we have developed feelings for them."

Ferio frowned. "I feared that."

"Does that mean that your attachment has grown beyond the bounds of slavery?"

The young Prince only sighed. "I hardly know. There's been much confusion, lately."

Emeraude sat down, motioning for Clef to speak. "Tell me your concerns, Madoshi."

"Well," Clef sighed, "My slave, you recall, is the blue-haired beauty from the other world. The fiery one with the impudent tongue."

"I do."

"Firstly, I observed that she issued a strange light as she slept. This was last night. I consulted the pools, and they instructed me to lead her into them." Emeraude's eyes were growing steadily wider. Clef's anxiety increased. "Well," he continued, "I was able to see, when she entered the water, that the… that the Water Shrine had come alive. Its creatures reached out to her, trying to pull her down with them."

"Creatures?"

Clef thrust out his hand, showing her his palm. "The mark of Selece." Emeraude snatched his hand up and studied it. Across his palm's smooth surface was a hideous burn in the shape of an ornate S.

"How did this happen?" she whispered.

"I don't know, but she and I were forced apart by a great, magical force and when I released her, this is what was burned onto me. The Dragon God Selece has awakened from his long slumber, majesty."

Emeraude began to tremble. She traced the outline of his scarred hand with shaking fingers. "Selece." Her lips worked around the word, growing taut and pale. "But that can only mean—"

"I also have these." He reached into his pocket and produced three large, green feathers. In the sunlight that poured into the room through massive windows, great lines of gold glinted among the green coloring. Emeraude shrank from them.

"How can it be?"

"They were in the bed of the Prince, covering his slave from head to toe."

"They were, sister! I witnessed it myself!" Ferio joined Clef in kneeling on the dais. "At twilight, observe the Western sky. You'll see the Sky Shrine alight."

Emeraude stared at the feathers in Clef's hand. "Why was I not informed of this sooner?"

"I was only recently made aware of it," Clef answered. "I took the girl to the pool this morning. I didn't see these feathers until I retrieved Ferio, mere moments ago."

Emeraude reached out tentatively to pluck a feather from Clef's outstretched hand. Never in her long years had she seen magic manifest itself in such a way. To be found among the trappings of the very Gods…

"Why, it can only mean—"

"For Umi, my slave, to be touched by Selece, and for the blonde girl… Fuu? Is that her name, Ferio? Well, for her to have produced these… I do believe, Highness, that we have not one, but _two_ Magic Knights on our hands." Clef gasped and whirled on the Prince. "Ferio! Have you deflowered her? Tell me! Have you stolen her virtue?"

Ferio jaw was slack. Realization was slowly dawning on him. "Why, no… No, I haven't."

"Truly? If you have sullied her, then Gods… I cannot say what punishment would lie in store for you." Clef began to wring his hands. "However, I suppose you would have been smitten already by Mokona, had you done so…"

"Or by Windam, her God," added Zagato.

Emeraude sank low against her throne. "By the Gods… how could we have allowed such a thing to happen? And how _could_ such a thing happen? Two Magic Knights, brought to this world only by chance. And _enslaved._" Her eyes were wide and her face began to pale. "What are we to do?"

"Your girl remains untouched as well, I presume?" asked Zagato.

"She does. I had an inkling and therefore distanced myself from her." Clef hid most of the truth from his King and Queen. He decided not to tell them that he'd stroked and touched her intimately, despite suspecting that she was a holy warrior…

"But they do not have magic!" Emeraude exclaimed wildly. "They come from Earth! It is a powerless, sterile realm! How could such young children, devoid of power, be preordained warriors to the Gods? Oh, Zagato! We must send them back! It isn't their time! They were not summoned; they were brought here under the pretense of slavery! Oh, the sin…"

"Send them back?" Ferio gasped. "But how? And why? Knight them, Clef! It's their right! Allow them to stay in this world, as is their destiny! Surely they weren't brought, _two at once_, by accident!"

Zagato turned to Lantis. "What of your girl? She was stolen from the same place. Is she suspect as well?"

Lantis was leaning against the far wall, rubbing his brows. Two enslaved Magic Knights. In _his_ kingdom. How could such a thing happen? He thought of Hikaru and wondered whether the same could be said for her. He'd never seen magic manifest itself in her, though. Nothing she'd ever done would suggest to him that she could be a Magic Knight. "No," he answered. "I've seen no evidence of that."

"I have," said a voice from the far end of the room. The group looked up to see Eagle standing against the door. His expresion was grave. "I have seen it."

"Eagle!" Emeraude exclaimed. "How dare you enter our chamber in the midst of this discussion!"

Zagato stood. "What have you seen, son of Autozam? Wife, please excuse him—"

Lantis glared over at his second-in-command. He hadn't seen him in several days, and now the memory of Hikaru's story of near-ravishment surfaced. He felt sudden and swift anger, and was surprised at it. Eagle had trespassed… that scoundrel.

"The Forge," Eagle said quietly. He stepped forward, but paused. "With your permission."

"Come forward," Emeraude beckoned. He did so, slowly.

"I was appointed by Prince Lantis to accompany the girl, several days ago," he began. "We were at the Forge prison."

"So?" asked Clef.

"She touched the wall. And it _opened_ for her! I saw it with my own eyes!"

Emeraude looked as if she might faint. "It cannot be—"

"It _can_," Eagle pressed. He motioned to the corner of the room, the corner which was windowed with a solid wall of crystal. It overlooked the south side of Cephiro. "Look to the South. The mountain churns black smoke. The volcano has awakened!"

Clef, Lantis and Zagato all stared in horror through the crystal windows. Emeraude remained in her seat. "I cannot look; I shall faint…"

Clef, too, looked pale and frightened. "The fire God."

"Send them back!" Emeraude cried. "Madoshi—with your magic and mine combined, we will work a spell to send them back! They must go, it's not their appointed time!"

"That would explain the great rift between the worlds," said Ferio. "The fabric has never been torn before, never. Perhaps their presence here, when it is not needed, has upset the balance."

Clef continued to wring his hands. "If we sent them back, it would be fixed."

"But how can we send them away from us?" Lantis asked quietly. Clef turned at that statement. So did Ferio. All three looked at one another in wonder. They had all, in one way or another, been touched by the Gods, and had never known it till this moment. At once, they all suddenly feared for their souls.

Lantis loved Hikaru. There was no denying it. He sank slowly against the wall, realizing that he would have to send her away, or be punished by the Gods. One look at Clef and Ferio told him that they were thinking the exact same thing. Ferio was clearly smitten. Lantis had never seen him display such devotion to a slave. Clef's feelings were harder to gauge. Personally, Lantis had never thought the ancient man to be capable of love. But inner struggle was apparent on his face as well, a struggle that went far beyond simple fear of punishment by the heavens.

Emeraude took Clef's robes in her hands, crying frantically into his face. "We must send them back! You have to help me, Guru Clef! My reign as Pillar could be forfeit if we do not. What then? What will happen to this land if I do not rule?"

Clef allowed her to shake him, unwilling to meet her eyes. "You're right, of course," he muttered.

"I have to send Fuu away," Ferio said aloud to himself. He was staring, unblinking at the floor. His clenched fists shook.

"Gather them," Zagato commanded. His voice sounded again throughout the room, resonating loudly, though he had only spoken in a quiet whisper. "Send the Mage Knights to retrieve them. If what we say is true, then their magic may manifest itself in ways unknown to us. They cannot be handled by simple soldiers."

Clef nodded, still looking resolutely at the floor. "Yes, Highness. I shall go and fetch her myself."

"I've seen no magic!" Ferio and Lantis both chorused.

"The evidence in all over you!" he shouted. "Lantis, turn!"

He did, and when Emeraude saw the scorch mark on his cotton shirt in the shape of a small hand, she fainted.

* * *

"No!" Umi cried, "Please! Let me go!"

"Be silent, or I'll beat you myself," he snarled. She sobbed as the solider roughly removed the tattered remains of her dress. He pushed her over and shoved his hand in her hair to free it from its binds.

"No!" she cried again. "_Clef!"_

He balled his fist and struck her in the face, making her gasp. "Be silent, you evil-minded scold! I said be silent!"

Umi sobbed and cradled her face. "Stop it! Get away from me!" In desperation, she lashed out at the soldier's face. He shouted and began to bleed—her fingernails had left three long, shallow gashes in his cheek.

"Filthy girl!" he growled and slapped her again. Umi fell against the sheets and went limp. There was no use fighting… she was no match for this man…

Suddenly, that feeling returned again. That tingling, welling feeling within her. That…burning feeling, of being slowly filled. She could hear its voice again.

_Prove to me the strength of thine heart that makes thee worthy…_

The solider cried out in pain and saw him jerk his hand away. It was covered in a layer of frost. The frost slowly crawled over his flesh and up his arm. "Damnable—what have you done?" he howled. "It burns!"

"Ah-h-h," she moaned, scooting herself backwards on the bed. Her head connected with the heavy, wooden headboard and she cried out again. Her fingers, hooked into the sheets like white claws, issued the pale light she'd seen in her hand hours before. Ice froze and melted and froze again all over her body. She shrieked.

"What have you done to me, you witch?"

"I didn't do anything!" She made ready to push herself off the bed when a familiar voice broke her spell.

"Umi."

It was Clef!

She whirled around. The frost on her flesh instantly melted and dissipated. Suddenly, she was soaking wet and freezing. She collapsed.

The solider had crawled to the corner, rubbing his arms, which had slowly been freezing solid. He looked up in horror at the small figure of Clef. "Madoshi-sama!"

Clef stood at the door, jaw limp. He did not at first seem to register the scene. He merely stared at Umi.

"Clef," she said again.

Coming out of his reverie, the Madoshi strode forward, looking from the red mark on Umi's face to the cowering form of the foot soldier. "You have struck her." His eyes narrowed. Umi cringed, feeling a dark and powerful energy gathering about his small frame.

"M-Madoshi-sama, forgive me, she was getting out of hand!"

Clef closed the distance between them and slapped him soundly in the face. "Liar."

"Madoshi-sama, please!"

Another slap. "Get out of my sight!"

Umi pushed herself farther across the bed. Shivers wracked her body in great waves. Her cheek smarted and stung and she clutched at it, not aware of the small, animal-like squealing sounds she was making.

The infuriated Master Mage delivered a series of blows to the poor soldier's face. "You—do—not—hit—women!" Blood poured from the boy's nose and mouth and he tried to stand, blubbering and stammering his way across the carpet. Clef grabbed his collar and snarled into his face, "I will _kill_ you, boy! _Do you hear me!"_

She heard snapping and hissing sounds, saw bright flashes of light sparking from Clef's fists. The soldier howled in pain. But he did not kill him. Clef threw the solider bodily across the room toward the door. She gasped. Clef had so much strength for one so small. The solider struggled to his feet and fell over himself trying to run from the room. Clef let him go, staring at the open door with narrowed eyes, breathing heavily.

"Clef," Umi sobbed. "Please, help me!"

"Are you all right?" he asked. He hadn't bothered to turn and look.

"No, no I'm not. He hit me."

"I'm sorry." She heard him sigh. His shoulders slumped a bit. "Dress yourself, please, and come with me."

Umi didn't know what to say. She was momentarily stunned. Soon, however, grief swept over her again and she began to weep anew. "Clef, what are you talking about? Look at me, look what's happened! Please, can't you just… please, just hold me or something—"

"Dress yourself please," he repeated, "and come with me."

Umi sobbed and hiccupped as she crawled across the bed with shaking arms and legs. She almost fell to the floor, but managed to steady herself. "What's happening to me?" She buried her face in her hands and cried. "Clef—tell me what's going on!"

But he wouldn't speak to her. Wouldn't even _look_ at her. What was the matter with him?

Umi felt incredible despair. If she was forced to be alone in this world, then how would she get by if the one person she was forced to be bonded to turned his back on her? "What did I do wrong?" she cried. "Clef!"

"Umi, please calm yourself."

She crawled forward on hands and knees, still weeping fiercely, and clutched at his back. She collapsed against him with her fists anchored in his robes. "Please—just look at me!"

He wouldn't. With her wet face buried in his back and her sobs shaking him, still he did not turn. Eventually, Umi released him and fell back on her hands.

"I have clothes ready for you," he said quietly. "Do you require your Page?"

Umi sniffled and hiccupped. She was positively devastated by his cold behavior. Of all the times he forced his intimacy on her, he was holding it back when she actually felt she needed it. She flared anger. "For what?"

"We must make ready to leave tonight for the Forest of Silence." He glanced out of the window. "Quickly. The sun is beginning to set."

Umi gaped at him. What was he _talking_ about?

"In that room," he motioned to his left, "you'll find a wardrobe. In it should be something that fits you. I'll wait outside."

"Please—"

"Be quick," he said.

She stumbled backwards from him. His back was still turned resolutely to her. God, she wished she could quiet her crying…tears still streamed down her face. She sniffed and wiped her nose, making quiet little gasping sounds as she staggered away from him into the next room. When she fell against the wardrobe, she heard the doors to his chambers close behind him. She slammed her fists against the wall. "_Bastard!_"

She continued to sob as she pulled open the doors to the wardrobe and pulled out its contents. Her body shook with her gasping and hiccupping and her fingers trembled when they clutched at the hems of the dresses she found. Her skin still felt cold and sensitive. That strange liquid feeling also continued to well within her. She clapped a hand over her mouth, realizing she was about to be sick.

She fell against the wall, retching, and hit her head against the heavy frame of a picture hanging there. She cried out and crumpled to the floor. "Clef," she gasped, "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you…"

With her face pressed against the lush carpet, Umi had never felt more miserable. She wished to be anywhere but there. Tokyo seemed miles and leagues and eons away.

But she wouldn't be broken. Oh, no, Clef would most certainly not break her. She saw the way he looked at her. He was enamored of her. If she was smart about it, surely she could twist him around her little finger, old and wise though he was. She could use her _feminine wiles_. She chose to ignore the voice in her head that reminded her how little of those she had and how unused they were, if they were in fact there. She tightened the fist that still held the sleeve of a silk dress. He'd pay.

Slowly, she pushed herself from the ground, rubbing her forehead. It ached and smarted where it had collided with the picture frame. There'd be a bruise there by tomorrow. Just lovely.

She wiped her nose and held the dress out before her. It was nice enough, simple and white. There were a few spots on it where her tears had fallen, but those would dry. She only wished she could find a _bra_. Apparently women in that land never heard of such a thing, for after a long search, she turned up nothing. She sighed, taking a corset and fumbling with its laces. When she glanced up at the wall, she gasped in outright shock.

The frame she'd smashed her head against was very thick and made of dark, ornate wood. Patterns had been carved in it in the shape of waves and dragons. The picture it held was of her, the one Clef had painted of her days ago. What she'd seen on his palette was no surprise now. The portrait had been done entirely in shades of blue and white. He'd hung it in his _private chamber._

Tentatively, she reached out to touch it. The part that intrigued her most were the eyes, _her_ eyes. They were…

She fell against the couch. She just couldn't take her _eyes_ off the thing. It was beautiful. But why would he hang it _here_? This was his study. He spent nearly all his time here, and she'd never seen a single portrait hanging on any of the walls in any one of his rooms. How surreal. There she was, immortalized on his wall.

The moment was fleeting, however. Very soon, reality came crashing around her. She was a slave, hated by her master, or so she thought. He'd abandoned her. Perhaps what the soldier said had been true. Clef would move on—he was taking her outside the castle to discard her.

With shaking hands, she pulled on the silken dress. She held up the corset and thought, _damn, I'll need help with this._

Finally, when she was dressed, she splashed cold water on her face. In the mirror, her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy. She squinted and thought most ardently that she'd be _damned_ if she'd let him see that she was still crying.

Outside, Clef was standing in the hall with a handful of Mage-Knights. He looked at her, eyes carefully blank. "Come, follow me."

* * *

Ferio paused outside the door to his chambers. Fuu would be inside, possibly still slumbering. What could he say to her? He'd been sent to retrieve her. He'd have to cast her out, watch as she was sent back to the Other-World. How could he, a Prince of Cephiro, be so distraught over a lowly pleasure slave, a silly girl from another world?

He sighed and pushed open the door. Fuu was awake, to his dismay, and sitting up in bed, thumbing through a large, leather-bound book. She looked up at him, studied him for a moment, then returned her gaze to the pages of the book.

_Something tells me that she's in her element,_ he thought. It looked all too natural for her to have a book poised between her elegant fingers with her glasses tipped down on her nose. He hovered in the doorway, remembering how those hands felt in his, and again he feared for his soul.

"Well, Fuu," he said striding over to the bureau and picking up a decanter of amber-colored liquid. He poured himself a glass and finished it in one long gulp. "It's just you and I again."

"Hm," she answered, still poring over the book in her lap.

He chuckled. "What are you reading?"

"I don't know," she replied, "I cannot read your language, however, I can deduce what it's discussing—something to do with the history of your land, if I'm not mistaken." She held the book up and pointed to a picture of a strange-looking creature. "What is this?"

"Ah, that is Mokona, the creator."

Fuu's mouth quirked. "Really."

"Indeed." He poured himself a second glass and sipped at it. "You know, the way you look right now excites me. I've always liked the idea of a learned lady."

She raised her eyebrows at him and said nothing.

He licked his lips, very much liking the taste of the fine aged Cephran mead. "I think you suit me well. You look almost like a proper Cephran; beautiful, wise… Who knows? If you play your cards right, my love, you could very well be destined for great things once your time of servitude here is over."

"My _time_?" she repeated. The book closed with a loud clap. "What do you mean?"

"All slaves in the palace leave this place after their time is through. No one ever stays forever. Truth be told, many of the nobles who reside here were once slaves themselves." He chuckled. "Many married, though never to their former masters. _That_ is not allowed."

"Pity," said Fuu, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Ferio finished glass and poured himself a third. "Indeed. What would you think about being wife to one of the future kings of Cephiro?"

Fuu laid the book on the bed next to her and studied Ferio long and hard. Her eyes took on that scrutinizing look, the look she usually had when she was trying to analyze a situation. She was silent for a long time, which rather unnerved Ferio. Finally, she said, "Something has happened. You're acting very strangely. What exactly is it that you want, Ferio?" she asked.

"Oh, I want a lot of things. World domination, mountains of feather pillows, my mother and father alive, a puppy, endless supplies of mead, beautiful women—"

"A puppy?"

"Don't concern yourself with it." He smiled. "I came to fetch you." He took another great swig from his glass. "Get dressed."

Fuu blinked. "Dressed?"

"Yes, my lady. We're going on a little trek."

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you responding to everything I say with a question?"

Fuu bit her lip. It was on the tip of her tongue to say something scathing to him, but… well, to be perfectly honest, she was growing weary of her calm and careless front. The handsome Prince terrified her in some dark, unknown way. She feared she couldn't mask it for much longer, and angering him certainly wouldn't help. She drew her knees up to her chest. "Where are we going?"

"The Forest of Silence Fortress." He ignored the look of frightened bewilderment that crept across her features. One more glass of mead would be in order for him to continue with this. The decanter was almost empty; he emptied it to its last drop into his glass and tossed it back in another long gulp. He could feel the liquor swimming around pleasantly in his head, though it did nothing to dull his senses as he'd hoped. "We're to leave within the hour," he said darkly.

"But why? Ferio, I don't understand. Please don't tell me I'm due to entertain the masses again."

He studied the wall beside him, clenching his empty glass in his hand. "No, no you're not." In a sudden rage, he hurled the glass against the wall where it shattered. Fuu gasped. "_God's be damned!"_ he shouted to no one. The empty decanter soon went the way of the glass and Fuu scooted backwards against the headboard.

His breathing came ragged and heavy and he stared around at the glass fragments that littered the carpet. In the corner, he spotted a neglected feather and could almost feel the color draining from his face. He turned to Fuu, who started and tried to press herself harder against the headboard. She started shaking violently when he began to approach the bed."Ferio," she gasped. Her foot slid from the bed, touched the carpet tentatively. "Please, don't come any closer." She stood up and inched her away along the wall, trying to maintain distance between them. He looked like he was _raving_.

He didn't stop. Fuu pressed herself as tightly as she could into the corner. He closed the distance between them and stopped a foot short of her. His movements were deliberate and slow, which made him seem that much more frightening. Her pert mouth trembled. "Ferio!"

He stood there for some time, staring at her intensely into her eyes. His face was… well, it was just _odd._ He'd never looked at her that way before.

She flinched when he moved—down to the floor. He exhaled heavily and dropped to one knee. Her mouth dropped open in shock. "_Ferio…_"

"Fuu." He kept his eyes downcast, one elbow resting across his bent knee. He was…_bowing._ "Lady, please excuse my trespasses. I am—decidedly unworthy."

The blonde gaped at the top of his green head. It was official. The young Prince had gone mad, and oh God, was he _shaking?_

He shifted his weight, keeping his eyes on the floor. "Forgive my urgency, but we must make haste. You must dress yourself and we must depart soon."

"What on Earth are you doing on your knees, Ferio?"

He smiled. "All men fall to their knees in the presence of a Magic Knight."

"What?"

"Nevermind."

"But," she frowned. "Why are we going to a—a fortress?"

"All will be explained to you in due time. Until then, though, please…make ready to depart."

She considered him for a long time. He seemed to be waiting on her word as he remained kneeling with his eyes downcast. Why? It was strange seeing him this way. It was as if…but no, she couldn't quite give it words. He was... changed.

"All right," she said.

"Thank you." He rose and took her hand. "If I may."

She allowed him to lead her into a dressing chamber. She stood dumbly, watched as he pulled dress, bodice, slippers, sashes and stockings from a nearby wardrobe. He motioned for her to stand before a mirror. "I can call women, if you'd like, but I'd be very pleased if I could dress you myself."

"O—ok."

And he did dress her, slowly, very delicately. She faced the mirror and watched his reflection. His face remained passive, almost reverent. He prodded her arms and slipped the sleeves of the dress over them, following them with the bodice. His fingers were quick and clever—clearly, this wasn't his first time dressing a woman. The thought, however, was not repugnant. She stood as straight and still as she could, but the warmth of his hands on her and the pressure of his body against hers was oddly sensual, even though he maintained a respectful distance. His eyes met hers in the mirror, just over her shoulder. He was lacing the color of her gown, moving careful fingers over her neck. His mouth was very close to her ear. "Ferio," she whispered. His eyes closed. He kept his face near her neck, slid his hands down her back, tightened the laces of her bodice.

"Yes?" he asked. His voice was low. It made her shiver.

_Ah,_ she thought when his eyes once again met hers in the mirror. _That's the face, the look. I feel like I'm seeing _him_, and not his Princely face._

She rubbed the soft silk of her dress against her cheek. "This is lovely."

"Agreed. It suits you, Fuu."

He pulled away from her. "Ferio, I—"

"Come along, lady. Time's pressing." He smiled. Fuu's heart fluttered a bit. She may as well have never seen him smile before, for how much it warmed her.

She extended her hand. "Lead the way."

* * *

Deeply. Delving into dreams—more burning landscapes, more faceless creatures with piercing eyes—she was lifted suddenly by strong arms.

She swam up through sleep. "Wha?"

"Come, beloved," he whispered. "We must go."

Hikaru started when the blanket was removed from her. Her skin, burning hot, quickly raised cold bumps. "No…" She came awake in cold, stark awareness. He clutched her and she thought, _Where am I?_

She saw the carpet moving beneath them, saw the passing shadows of furniture and the long slip of torchlight illuminating the doorway. "Lantis."

"Yes."

"Where—"

"I must take you to your Page. He waits for you in the Slave Hall."

The term made her cringe. "No, please…"

"It is by order of the King and Queen."

It occurred to her to protest. Lantis often did the things she asked. It seemed futile now, though. He had her in tow and gave no indication that he was going to put her down. But sleep still clung to her mind. Things were confusing. She rubbed her eyes. "Wait, where…?"

He chuckled softly and it thrilled her, which she found both agreeable and disturbing. "You'll feel better once you've bathed. I think that it is what your Page has in mind for you; a bath and a proper dress. I'd bathe you myself, but…" She felt, rather than saw him color slightly. "Well, I feel it'd be rude, firstly, and secondly, they would not allow it."

Hikaru blinked at the walls, at his shoulders, down at her dangling feet. "The Slave Hall?" she asked.

Lantis tried not to smile at her confusion. "Yes. Though, I feel I wrong you simply by carrying you this way." _Blasphemy,_ he thought bitterly. It was like a stain on his soul, now.

"I don't understand." She rubbed her eyes again, finally starting to take in her surroundings. "I'm being prepared for something. What's going on?" Her heart clenched in her chest. "Not another… not another dinner, I hope."

Oh, but if there was one thing that Hikaru could have possibly said to put the fear of God in him, it was that. "Don't worry yourself," he said quietly, "you need not fear such things anymore."

Lantis. She furrowed her brow. He was being evasive and vague, as usual. She curled closely into his body since it was chilly, and did her best to cover her nakedness. People were passing them in the halls, after all, people who had wandering eyes. Amazing that she'd been naked for days and still felt shame. Her forehead against his chest was soothing, though. He was warm, just like she'd remembered before… well, before…

"Hey," she said suddenly. "I fell asleep! Wait, you brought me to your rooms and then…" She bit her lip and hid her face in his shirt. _And then he'd had his way with her and left her._ She assumed that, anyway. "Why did you leave?" she asked quietly.

"I told you, I had urgent business with the Madoshi."

"The short guy."

Lantis shuddered. She may as well have uttered a filthy obscenity. "He's a bit more than that, I'm afraid."

"Yeah, I heard." She couldn't contribute much more to the conversation than that. Why should she? Her mind was occupied with ravishment... ravishment that she could not, for the life of her, remember. All she remembered was that _fever,_ that heat and blackness that he seemed to bring into bed with him, or wherever he happened to have her. It wouldn't occur to her for several hours yet, as she sat in the window overlooking the Forest of Silence, that it was not he who induced those feelings in her. She didn't mind the feelings; they were fine. Alien, but fine…

…_I don't want to say enjoyable…_

But…

"Lantis," she said.

"Yes?"

"I don't… well, I don't remember much before I fell asleep. Did we—" She bit her lip and trembled. "Well, did you enjoy it, at any rate?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know…" It occurred to her to reach between her legs to check for soreness. Didn't all those shoujo mangas say that there was always blood and soreness the first time? It would be vulgar to check, of course, while she was anchored in Lantis' arms. "Was it nice?"

"Hikaru," he chuckled. "I didn't deflower you, if that's what you're trying to ask me. I was hoping you'd think better of me than that, to take advantage of you so."

"Oh." Hikaru blushed. "That's…that's very noble of you, Lantis."

He sniffed. "Of course. I'm royalty."

"Ok, well… I still don't understand why I blacked out." She rubbed her eyes. "I didn't say or do anything stupid, did I?"

Lantis only laughed softly again.

Hikaru peered down the hall. Ahead, she could see the entrance to the Slave quarters. She shuddered. What could they be pampering her for? Hopefully she wasn't going to someone else's bed. Why else would they bother to truss her up so much?

"Where am I going?" she asked again.

"Outside the confines of the castle," he replied, all humor gone from his voice. "I cannot say more than that. You'll find out very soon." He adjusted her in his arms so that all of her body was pressed against him. It was as far as he dared to go, quickened as he was by her heated blush. "As we don't have much time, I insist you hurry."

* * *

For the first time in ages, Fuu found herself gazing at the wide open fields of Cephiro. The dying twilight gave everything an ethereal glow. Ah, how wonderful to be freed finally from the confines of the castle.

She turned and saw more horses approaching their group. Coming out of the gates, she saw Lantis, the other Prince, with his red-haired slave in tow. Her other Earth friend. Behind her was Umi, saddled in front of an unknown man.

It was the first time she'd seen either of them in days.

_What's to become of us?_ she thought miserably.

It was a tense moment. She felt as if she were standing on the edge of a great precipice. Something was standing between her and a great destiny, and she felt she wasn't alone in that respect. Both girls had the same looks on their faces; looks that said _something's coming._

The back of her hand twinged painfully and she rubbed at it. Far to the East, she could see the dark outline of a wide forest. Was that were her destiny lay?


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:** None really. Enjoy all the same.

* * *

**CAPTIVE AND CAPTIVATED**

**Chapter Eleven**

The Cephran night air was chillier than she would have liked. Hikaru clutched a thin shawl around her shoulders and leaned back into the warmth of the unknown soldier behind her. Twilight was thick in the perfumed air around them. Hikaru glanced at the horizon. Only the thinnest sliver of deep purple could be seen. In mere minutes, it would be full dark and the sickle moon would peek at them from behind the clouds.

Hikaru sighed and craned her neck to peer at the other horses. There were probably ten of them, all mounted by soldiers. Soldiers wearing red. They must have been Lantis' mage knights. Why in the world would three little girls require such an escort? Umi and Fuu seemed not to give much thought to the situation. In fact, they didn't seem to notice the situation at all. Fuu's eyes were downcast and slitted. Her lips were pursed. She appeared to be deep in thought. Umi, on the other hand, was leaning back against her escort looking stricken. Her pale eyes were shiny and dull.

_Why haven't any of the Princes come to escort us?_ Hikaru wondered. _Or even the old Master Mage._ Was their journey into the night some new form of punishment? She clenched her fists in her lap. Lantis had been so vague. Well, what else was knew? He spoke in riddles, always. However, he'd also told her that she need never fear an awful punishment again. _Oh, that's not true. He said we'd never have to suffer anything like that dinner again. That could mean anything. We could have some new horror waiting for us on the other side of that forest._

She chanced a glance at the man to whose horse she was saddled. He, like the rest of the mage knights, was draped in red. His face was dark and solemn, rather like Lantis', but he was small and slight with a round face. He didn't meet her gaze. After a moment, he pulled something from his saddlebag and raised a signal to the rest of his counterparts. A torch was lit, and from it, more came to life and cast their light on the party. Faces were illuminated, and now the shadows across her friends' faces made them seem eerily alive. Fuu's eyes caught hers for a brief moment. They were like emerald tinged with fire. Umi continued to stare blankly at her hands.

_Where are we going?_ Hikaru wondered.

Meanwhile, Fuu's mind ran wild. She played the scenes of the past week over and over in her head, trying to make sense of their situation. Try as she might, she could neither make head nor tail of anything that had happened to her. Or to her friends. _If I can call them friends,_ she thought. She did her best to ignore the irrational nagging at the back of her mind of her Princely master, that nagging that wanted so desperately for her to remember that, even though he often seemed cold and calculating, his hands on her hours previously and the way he looked at her through the mirror were remarkably… human.

Yes, human. She hadn't thought of anyone in this land as human, ever since she first set foot on the grass here. To think so now would derail her logical thought processes. It was good to think of them all as monsters, for she felt she could maintain some semblance of sanity if she did so, and also a sense of herself as whole and pure, untouched by all that had happened to her. And what was it that he'd said to her back in his chambers? He'd _bowed_ to her. From bent knee, he'd given her some title. What was it again? _Damn… my mind is leaving me…_

On top of these disturbing thoughts was the fact that Fuu felt as if she were going mad. Every so often, she'd hear a great swooping of giant wings over her head, and she'd gasp, looking around in fright to see nothing. Once, she'd even heard the cry of a great bird; a loud, terrifying sound, but no one else in the party seemed to hear a thing. What in the _world_ was happening to her? The back of her hand twinged painfully again and she rubbed it absently.

She glanced up at Hikaru, the redhaired girl, and saw her looking about in awe. She looked very much like a child who was being paraded through a theme park that she'd never seen before. Yes, her eyes were innocent and childish. But when the redhead met her eyes, that look vanished and Fuu thought, _Why, she is a woman. A tortured woman, not unlike myself. This place has tainted her as much as it has tainted me._

Fuu sighed and turned to look at Umi. The girl looked positively deadened. She hadn't said a word since they'd set out into the night. She hadn't looked up at any of them either. Fuu could almost feel the sadness and loss emanating from her. It was a tangible, palpable thing, Umi's defeat. That surprised Fuu, since Umi seemed at first to be the strongest of them all, with her fiery temper and will of iron.

Neither of the girls could really see the depths of Umi's sorrow. She felt like a defeated husk, an empty body of a girl that had once been recognizable. Now… well, she didn't know what to think. She was a slave, an invalid, and not even the man she'd been pledged to wanted anything to do with her. At least Fuu and Hikaru's masters seemed to _want_ them around. Clef hadn't even… hadn't even _looked_ at her before she was taken away. What did she have here, if not him? She had nothing.

_And why,_ she thought, _why? What did I do to deserve that? It can't have been my petulance and malice towards him. If anything, he was even worse than me. Sometimes, it seems he _enjoyed_ that kind of thing. And I suppose, if I'm honest with myself, I did too._

She stared down at her fingernails, sniffing back the tears that were threatening behind her eyelids. But what did she care if anyone saw her cry? She was beaten now. What was the point of trying to maintain that tough, fiery façade?

_Do you love me?_ she'd asked.

And he'd answered; _it wouldn't matter, if I did._

Finally, she managed to tear her eyes away from her limp hands and turned to look up at her escort. She'd never seen him before. He, like the other soldiers, was draped in red. He hadn't attempted to speak to her, for which she was grateful. What would they talk about, the weather? So, he was silent, but he seemed peaceable enough. He was small of stature with closely-shaven hair. He met her eyes and gave her a faint smile that she didn't return. Couldn't, really; his eyes were haunting steel-gray color.

It was full dark now, and quite blustery. The tall grasses around their party whispered and hissed with the wind. Umi folded her arms across her chest and shivered. The unnamed soldier behind her drew her closer to him with his free arm. She blushed, remembering the nights that she would awaken in Clef's bed to his arm slipping across her stomach.

_Well…best to forget about that. I've been cast out now. He does not care._ From the corner of her eye, she caught firelight glinting off the surface of a still pool. She ignored the glare of bright, golden eyes leering at her from beneath its glassy surface.

Finally, the party reached the edge of the forest. In a single-file line, each soldier led his horse into the dark, ghostly trees. Their torches gave plenty of light, but the shadows and sounds of distant rustling (and sometimes roaring) frightened the girls.

"Keep moving!" shouted someone from the back of the party. "The Forge is directly ahead!"

* * *

In the castle, the Grand Hall was cast in shadow. It was dimly lit by a solitary candle in the corner. All was silent but for the quiet sobbing of a woman. Such a woman could be seen, her hair bright despite the dim candlelight and her clawed hands clasped firmly together, shining wet with her tears. Emeraude was bent double, kneeling over her throne, whispering frantically into its soft cushions. She was deep in prayer.

"Gods above," she whispered. "What shall I do? Give me guidance, I beg of you—I must uphold this land. All could fall to ruin… Gods above, please, I implore you…"

In the far corner, concealed by shadow, stood Master Mage Clef. His narrowed eyes stared at Emeraude. His face was impassive but he, too, felt the urge to whisper frantic prayers to the gods. But what good would that do? If they were damned, then they were damned. He certainly hadn't forseen such a fate for himself. Neither had he ever forseen having a slave, a _Magic Knight slave_, no less, taken forcibly from him.

His eyes narrowed further into slits. If the Queen decided to send them back, it would take all of her magic and his to do so. He'd have to be there; he'd have to watch her go. With a scowl, Clef turned his eyes away from his distraught Queen and stalked from the room.

* * *

Ferio, too, wore a scowl on his face. He was standing on his balcony with a large glass of mead in his hand. The last, faint wink of the last torch of their party had finally disappeared into the forest. Now, all he could see was rolling, black hills. They were gone. _She_ was gone. It would be up to his sister, and to the Master Mage, whether or not he was to participate in the spell to send them back. There wasn't much he could do as far as the magic was concerned… he had little of his own. But, if he could only see her one last time…

_Perhaps it would give me closure. She is, after all, only a girl. It should be no concern of mine to lose a slave when one could take her place almost immediately. _

Ferio grimaced and turned away from the forest. What a liar he was.

* * *

The trip through the forest seemed to stretch on for years. The sharp branches of the trees seemed to reach out at Hikaru who cringed in fear against her escort. Black shadows leapt out at her and she shut her eyes against them.

Finally, the party emerged into an open field. The pale light cast by the sickle moon overhead barely illuminated the walls and tall spires of an ancient, crumbling castle. The Forge. This was the place that Eagle had brought her that day. God, was it really only a few days ago? A lifetime seemed to have gone by since then. That field, which had been beautiful and peaceful in the sunlight, was now cold and haunted under moonlight. Hikaru, Umi and Fuu all cast their eyes about warily. Would some monster leap from the shadows at them, devouring them whole?

The soldiers steered their horses into the clearing and directed them to the walls of the castle. Again, Hikaru noted that there was no door. She frowned. What were they _doing_ here?

She could hear them whispering behind her. They seemed confused. Many of them stared up at the castle with puzzled expressions. "But where shall we take them?" she heard one of them ask. "There is no door," said another.

"Fools," said her escort, turning to glare at his counterparts. "Have you never been to the Forge Prison? Wait a moment and—"

"Have one of them lay their hand on the wall," said a voice from the back of the party. Hikaru felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. She turned and grimaced. _Eagle._

Her escort turned their horse to address his commander. "Master Eagle, shall we remain here for the night?"

Eagle, whose pale face came slowly into the light of the torches, looked weary. "All of you will remain here, yes. Though, I have not been given any hint as to exactly how long that will be. Perhaps a day, perhaps a handful of days." He set his jaw and lead his horse past Hikaru's without looking at her. He stopped short of the crumbling wall and said, "Bring one of them and have her touch the wall."

She stared openly at his back. _Eagle._ Against her will, memories of that sunlight day in that very field came back to her. His lips and hands had been soft and warm, like the grass beneath them had been. His face was handsome and kind, but now, it seemed that it changed from his face to Lantis' face and then back again. Hikaru shivered and rubbed her arms, feeling heat rising from her skin. In her mind, Lantis and Eagle were becoming the same man. Yet they were so different, like the moon and sun; night and day. Lantis' mouth closed around her fingers, Eagle's cloak spread below her, filled with that foreign but strangely sensuous male smell… Her skin flushed red and hot, but she ignored it and turned her eyes to the sky. The moon was a waxy orange color and the wind that had been blowing roughly about them since they'd left the castle now blew hot. Some new horror was waiting for them on the other side of that wall, she just knew it. Why else would the powerful castle guard be all around her? Lantis hadn't come with them. Why? Had he taken to ignoring her again? That thought made her clutch the saddle beneath her angrily. She felt all alive now, all hot and quivering with righteous anger.

Hikaru blinked when she realized that she'd been hearing howling in the back of her mind. Now it was loud and all around her. Some huge, horrible creature was calling out to her. She raised her eyes to the topmost tower of the castle and felt her insides burn. Silhouetted against the sickly orange moon was a giant, horned, wolf-like creature. Its eyes burned into her. Suddenly, the air around her began scorching her skin and the entire field was aflame. They were all burning alive! Hikaru shrieked.

Every head in the group turned to her, watched her leap from the saddle and stagger across the grass. She screamed and raked fingernails over her arms and legs, looking as if she were trying to swat something away. "Hikaru!" Fuu and Umi cried in unison.

The soldiers all scrambled to dismount, chasing after the screaming and sobbing Hikaru. One reached her and grabbed at her arm, but shouted and yanked his hand away as if he'd been burned. Eagle stared after her with his mouth open. The horses, frightened and disoriented, began to turn in circles and tear off into the trees. Hikaru tripped over a rock hidden in the grass and fell on her face, still crying and swatting at the flames she saw licking across her flesh. To everyone else's eyes, she appeared to be perfectly normal.

Fuu began to weep along with Hikaru. The wind, which had been considerable before, now began to blow at hurricane force. The trees around them groaned and shook. Even the very ground seemed to tremble. Shouts, cries, screaming horses, curses and bright flashes of light accompanied the roaring of the wind.

Umi seemed to be the only person to keep her head in the fray. She, like Eagle, stared after Hikaru with a slack jaw. She tore her eyes away from the screaming girl and stared at the wall before her. Eagle had said that one of them need only touch it to gain entry. One of _them_, one of the girls. _Why are we special?_

Unnoticed by anyone, Umi slid out of her saddle and walked calmly up to the wall. She pressed a pale palm to the stone and closed her eyes.

Somewhere, a soldier shouted, "Look to the girl! The wall has opened!"

The rest of the soldiers descended upon Hikaru, whose screams had suddenly ceased, and hauled her away from the treeline. Fuu was still crying loudly, though no one could hear her over the harsh roar of the wind. Umi stood with her hand extended, blinking at the open doorway before her. Her hair whipped around her face, which was impassive.

"She has fainted!" Eagle shouted, pointing to Hikaru. "Get her inside. The others, too. The Kail hinted that something like this might happen, and look at yourselves, running about like _women._ They're nothing but little girls! Inside!"

Properly ashamed of themselves, the soldiers dragged a sweating and swooning Hikaru through the open wall. Fuu was pulled in as well, and Umi followed them dreamily, as if this were all perfectly normal and they were all on some delightful daytrip.

Eagle, after casting one last look across the dark and quiet fields (and failing to notice how the wind had suddenly died) disappeared into the dark portal. The wall materialized again, solid as ever. The night was still and calm behind him.

It was very dark inside the old castle. The air was musty and rank, and the whole place had a feel of age and disuse. How long had it been since human beings had stepped foot over its threshold? Fuu, still sobbing and hiccupping quietly, was led along by powerful hands down dark corridors. She could hear them behind her and in front of her, still whispering frantically. She sensed rather than saw Umi following behind. Ahead, she knew that Hikaru was being lead, pale and limp in the arms of her escort. What was going on?

Umi turned briefly to look into the steely-gray eyes of her own escort. He looked wild and frightened, and she suddenly realized how young he was. Surely he couldn't be much older than her. He motioned for her to continue on and she turned back around without a word.

Eventually, all three girls were shunted into an open room with high ceilings. There was a large, dusty bed in the corner and a bit of furniture. Eagle led them all in and motioned for the girls to be confined in a corner. "One of you will stay in here with them. You three," he pointed to a small group to his right, "will stay outside to guard the walls. The rest of you will come with me." He looked over at the soldier who held Hikaru and frowned. "Look to her, she is coming to."

Hikaru, who was still hanging limply in the arms of her escort, began to shake a little. Her eyes fluttered. "Where—" she gasped.

"Place her on the bed until she revives," Eagle commanded.

"Wait, please don't leave us in here," Fuu pleaded through her tears. "It's dark, what are we to do?"

Eagle ignored her and went to Hikaru's side. He bent down to look into her face. "I think she'll be all right, but keep an eye on her just to be sure." He gasped in shock and jumped back when Hikaru suddenly sat bolt upright in the bed. Her wide, ruby eyes were watery with fright.

"Where am I?" she gasped.

"Hikaru," Eagle began softly, "you've… well, you're awake, I see. How do you feel?"

She appeared not to have heard him or even seen him standing before her. She stumbled out of the bed on shaking legs and began to pace the room. "The Forge. The Forge, yes, we're in the Forge…" Finally, she looked up at Eagle. She was pale. "Where is Lantis?"

He frowned. "The Prince remains in the castle, my girl. I'm not sure if you'll be able to see him before you go."

Hikaru blanched further, if that was possible. "Go? Go where?"

"Not now, lady," he soothed, reaching out to put his hands on her shoulders. She pulled away and bared her teeth at him like an animal.

"Your girl," she spat. "Ha! I am _not_ your girl, Eagle! I'm no one's girl! You would have had it so outside in those fields, wouldn't you, when I was wretched and frightened and knew no better… how dare you speak to me that way!"

Eagle's mouth dropped. "_Hikaru._"

The redhead clutched at her hair. "Stop. Just leave me alone. I don't care what you have planned for me tomorrow, just leave me alone. Leave all of us alone!" she cried.

Eagle stared at her open-mouthed for quite some time. Eventually, he turned away and motioned for the rest of the guard to follow him out of the room. Hikaru hugged herself and leaned against the wall. She did not watch them go.

The door closed, and suddenly the room seemed to be full of nothing but shadows and silence. Fuu remained huddled in the corner beside Umi, who stood watching Hikaru warily. They were all three alone together, for the first time since they'd arrived.

_What now?_ Hikaru thought wildly. _We're trapped here… prisoners. Where is Lantis? _She turned and eyed the pair. Her lip quivered. "Fuu…Umi." Suddenly, she rushed forward and threw her arms around both their necks. Fuu gasped. "I'm so glad," Hikaru sobbed. "I'm so glad you're here with me… God, what's going to happen to us? What are we to do?"

Fuu's tears began to stream down her cheeks again. She clung to Hikaru and wept into her hair. "Hikaru-san, it'll be all right. Everything will be all right."

Umi said nothing, only bit back her own tears and patted Hikaru's shoulder gently. What could she say? They were doomed. While Hikaru and Fuu wept together, Umi quietly disengaged herself from their embrace and slipped away to sit on the bed. It was an enormous bed and would easily accommodate all three of them. They'd spend the night in this room, obviously. From outside the door, she could hear the slow, pacing footsteps of the soldier keeping watch over them.

She watched jealously as Hikaru and Fuu held one another in a sisterly sort of embrace. They were so open to one another, bearing one another's pain. But what could they understand of hers? They at least had someone to fret over. What did she have? She lay back against the sheets and stared through watery eyes at the ceiling overhead. She said nothing.

* * *

Very late in the night, Lantis peered into the Queen's chambers to see her laying on her bed, white as a sheet. She trembled violently. "Sister?" he said softly.

Emeraude shifted but did not look at him. "Lantis," she said. "I feel…ill. Very weak. I've felt it for some time, actually. It's as if a cold hand is slowly squeezing my heart. What could that mean?"

Lantis stood in her doorway, unsure of what to do with himself. Emeraude was quiet, but he could see sobs wracking her thin frame. "Sister—"

"No," she said quietly. "I don't understand it either, so don't bother." She reached out from beneath her blankets and took hold of her coronet. Lantis narrowed his eyes at it. "Do you see this? It has changed. It _is_ changing. The Proof of the Pillar. Somehow, I feel it has deadened to me, and perhaps that's why I feel so ill."

Finally, Lantis rushed forward and clutched at his sister-in-law's shaking hand. "Emeraude, you are unwell, surely it means nothing. You imagine things."

She smiled at him sadly and patted his hand. "Don't worry about me."

"But your strength… you must rest if you mean to send the girls back to the Other-World."

"I shall be more than able to do that," Emeraude said with a hint of venom in her voice. She shifted again and said, "Say nothing to Zagato."

Lantis frowned. "Emeraude, please."

She waved him off. "I'm many things Lantis, but stupid is not one of them. I know when the Proof changes. I've seen it myself, eons ago. It is doing so again, and I can't help but think that it is because of one of those young girls."

"You cannot be replaced as Pillar," Lantis asserted. "Your reign has been long and great."

"And exhausting," Emeraude added, thoroughly shocking Lantis. "Think you that is it easy to uphold an entire world? I assure you that it is not. Right now, in my worn and weary state, the idea of passing on my crown does not seem so bad."

"Emeraude!"

She smiled wearily. "Enough. You're right… I'm only ill and raving. Leave me, now. I do need my rest for the transport, if the Madoshi and I manage to figure out how it's to be done. I've never performed such magic before."

Lantis sat back on his haunches. "Surely it can't be more complicated than the spell it took to bring them here? A mere reversal?"

She only twitched a shoulder lazily in reply. "Who knows? We shall see. Good night, Lantis."

The Prince bowed and took his leave. Outside her doors, he paused to think. Surely the idea that the Pillar Proof was changing was in her head. Perhaps it was part of women's problems (of which he had little knowledge). She was out of her head; sick and wretched with her monthly courses, perhaps.

It was entirely too much trouble to think otherwise.

But, as he walked silently down the corridors of the castle, he couldn't help but wonder which of them it could possibly be.

* * *

"So, what do we do now?" Hikaru asked later as she sat cross-legged in the corner, twisting her fingers together.

Fuu, who had long since regained her composure and took on, once again, that thoughtful, calculating look, shrugged her shoulders. "That man said we were to go somewhere. Any ideas on where that might be?"

Hikaru bit her lip. "Not really." She sighed and stretched out her legs. "Do you think they mean to send us home?"

Fuu shook her head. "I doubt it, somehow. After all, they've gone to a lot of trouble to get us, and to keep us here. Why would they send us away now?"

"Lantis did hint at the possibility that we would someday leave this land. Emeraude said as much, too. And everyone's been acting awfully strangely lately, almost as if they're afraid to touch us. What's going on?"

Again, Fuu shrugged her shoulders and glanced over at Umi. She was huddled on the far side of the bed, curled up against the pillows with her back to them. She hadn't said a word since they'd been brought there. Fuu fingered the folds of her dress. "I believe you're right about that last bit. Ferio _was_ acting rather strangely today."

"Ferio," Hikaru repeated. She was looking down at her feet. "That's the other Prince? The green-haired boy?"

Fuu nodded. "He is. I believe he's the younger of the two. Out of him and Lantis, I mean."

"Ah." The red-haired girl began to nervously play with ends of her braid, and Fuu could tell that she struggled with a question that she didn't really want to ask."Um—"

"Don't be afraid," Fuu said gently. "You may ask me whatever you'd like. I'm rather curious as to what your experience with your, with your _master_ has been."

Hikaru's cheeks flushed a pretty pink. "Oh," she managed. "Well, I guess… well, what was Ferio like? Was he, was he…nice?"

Fuu blinked. That hadn't been the question she'd imagined Hikaru asking. Then again, the girl seemed to be a young innocent. No doubt she'd stray from questions involving just exactly _what_ she did with her master. She scooted backwards on the bed, closer to Umi's still-silent form and said, "No, no he wasn't."

_But that's not exactly true,_ she thought. _It's not false, either._

She shook her head. "He could be when it suited him; when he wanted something from me. He seems… like a promiscuous sort of man. Boy." Fuu paused. How old was Ferio, anyway? She shook the thought off and continued. "It never seemed like he was sincere. He seemed very practiced, like everything he said to me was nothing that he hasn't said to fifty other women."

Hikaru blinked. "Oh. I'm… I'm sorry."

"Nothing to worry about," Fuu replied. "It simply is." _But that's not entirely true either, is it? In his chambers this evening, I think I caught a glimpse of his true face._ She scoffed. "He told me that he loved me frequently."

To her surprise, Hikaru seemed almost relieved. "Oh, you too? Lantis told me as much. Sort of. Maybe not with words…he's not really the loquacious type." She blushed again, and when she saw Fuu scrutinizing her face, she blushed further, wondering whether or not all that had befallen between her and Lantis was written plainly across her blazing cheeks. "He was gentlemanly with me, though. And it seemed like he didn't much care for pleasure slavery. I don't think he likes it."

Fuu suppressed an un-ladylike snort. "Ferio is quite the opposite of his brother-in-law, then."

Hikaru craned her neck at Umi's curled form. "What about you, Umi? What was the Madoshi like? He seemed pretty cold and standoffish. And the Queen told me he was _ages_ old, even though he looks like a young boy. Was he good to you?"

Umi curled further into her pillows and did not reply. Hikaru looked wonderingly at Fuu, who only shrugged. Hikaru plowed on. "Lantis told me so himself that he didn't like the system. He even treated me as an equal, when no one else was around. He let me wear clothes." _Even though I chose not to wear them most of the time…_ Hikaru was rather shocked at herself upon that realization. How accustomed she'd grown to being naked, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Even then, as she sat with her legs splayed out over the stone floors of the Forge, covered in rich, dusty carpets, the feeling of her thin dress was almost stifling. The cloth made her skin itch and suddenly she felt hot again.

Fuu relaxed against the mountain of pillows that was piled on their lavish bed. She curled close to Umi, patting her exposed wrist. "I can't say the same for Ferio. Actually, I've only seen a little of him in this short time we've been here. During the festival, he was gone a lot. He… well, the few times he was around me, I suspect he was a little drunk." She remembered all too well the night on the balcony, the night that she herself felt drunk with the perfumed fires of the festivals. All of a sudden, a strange kind of heat rose in her body. Some words of Ferio's rang in her mind. _You shall have to remind me to tell the Madoshi that the Sky Shrine is alive._

The Sky Shrine. Alive?

"What did he mean?" she said aloud.

"Hmm?" Hikaru asked.

Fuu pursed her lips, puzzled. "There was a star in the sky that night. Actually, it may still be there. Ferio said that it was a shrine. A shrine in the sky. Yes, the Sky Shrine. Things were strange after that. After that night, Ferio began acting strangely."

"The Sky Shrine?" a hoarse voice croaked. Fuu and Hikaru looked around in surprise. Umi had lifted her head from the pillows. Her cheeks were wet and her hair was rumpled. She looked as if she'd been crying into the bed since first she laid in it.

"Umi-san," Fuu whispered.

The bluette's eyes finally had some bit of light to them. "A shrine," she repeated. "Ferio said there was a Sky Shrine?"

"Why, yes," Fuu said. "Though what that is, I'm not sure—"

"There's a Sea Shrine, too," Umi interrupted. She sat up slightly, looking Fuu dead in the eye. "Clef showed it to me. He is… very powerful. He speaks with the Gods."

Hikaru's eyes were wide with unashamed awe. "Wow, with the _Gods?_"

"I could see the world in his pools. I was _in_ the world. He pulled me into it."

"Pools?" Fuu asked.

"I was in the ocean, I could see the Sea Shrine. It was rumbling, and there was a really bright light issuing from it. He said it was alive. He used that very word. _Alive._" Umi felt her insides grow cold and she broke out into a clammy sweat. "And there was something else there… in the water with me, I mean. It grabbed me—" She lifted her arms and looked at them. No dragon marks were to be seen, but…

_I see them in my dreams. I'm afraid to go to sleep tonight,_ she thought sadly.

Hikaru was still starry-eyed with admiration. "So, there's a shrine in the sky and one in the sea. But what kind of shrines? Did Clef say?"

Umi looked back and forth from Fuu to Hikaru. She felt she'd said too much. Once again, she didn't feel like seeing or talking to anybody and so sank back into her pillows.

"Umi?" Hikaru said. "What's the matter?"

Fuu had a little more tact. She'd sensed that Umi had been ill at ease all day, and it went beyond simply being upset at being shut up in a prison. Indeed, Fuu suspected that if she were inside the most lavish room in the castle, she'd still be just as forlorn. She lifted the blankets and scooted against Umi. The blue-haired girl stiffened slightly at the sudden intrusion of warmth against her, but she did not move away. Fuu slid an arm around Umi's waist and lay quietly beside her.

Hikaru simply blinked at them. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Fuu rested her chin on Umi's shoulder. "Is it the Madoshi?" she whispered. She took the girl's silence as the 'yes' that it was and nodded. "Was he not good to you?"

The bed shifted and Fuu turned to see Hikaru crawling in next to them. She tucked herself beneath the blankets, wrapped herself around a pillow and yawned.

Umi sighed. "He was…" Oh, how to explain? He was cold and aloof and hateful, yet seemed to worship her at times. He spoke to her as an equal, whether in angry or soft tones. He was so willing to show her his world, yet once he had, he was cold as stone towards her. He had so many faces, none of which she understood, and all of which she strangely desired. If only he would give her a kind word…

"Fuu-chan," Hikaru said, stifling another yawn. She scooted close to her as if they were all having a cheery slumber party. "Did you ever… you know—"

"What?" Fuu asked.

Hikaru blushed into her pillow. Dared she ask? She really wanted to know. Her master hadn't done anything unseemly to her. She wondered if theirs had done the same.

"Did you and Ferio…"

Fuu smiled indulgently at her. "Did we what?" She knew perfectly well what Hikaru was getting at.

"Come on, you know what I mean."

"No, I'm afraid I don't, Hikaru-san."

"Oh, come on!" Umi snapped, rising from the pillows. "Hikaru, spit it out already. And Fuu, stop playing dumb!"

Fuu giggled into Umi's shoulder while Hikaru fidgeted and blushed.

"No, we didn't," Fuu laughed. "and that surprises me, you know. We had opportunities, God knows." Her laughter ceased abruptly when she thought, _and I all but begged him to once…_ She cleared her throat. "Strange that we didn't. Isn't that what we were brought here for?"

Umi sneered. "What are you, disappointed?"

"No, not at all. But it's puzzling all the same. To be honest, I'd accepted it after a time. And anyway, what could I have done about it if I really didn't want it? Ferio's not really a big man—er, boy, but I certainly couldn't have repelled him if he _really_ tried me. What would I have done?"

"But we're just children," Umi said softly, collapsing again into the sheets. "How can they have expected us to just hop into bed with strange men? God, I'd never so much as been kissed before I was forced into Clef's hands."

"At least your men wanted you," Hikaru said suddenly, making the other two girls turn to look at her. "I didn't see Lantis for days at first. He didn't even want me. Ferio _made_ him take me."

"As I recall, Lantis took to carrying you around everywhere after that," Fuu mused. "On his shoulder, if I'm not mistaken."

Hikaru sighed. "That's right, like I'm a parakeet. But that doesn't negate the fact that he took me to shut the other Prince up."

"Not true, Hikaru. I remember him choosing you. He didn't just pick any one of us. He chose _you._ I remember. He looked at both Fuu and I and decided, for whatever reason, that he didn't want us. _I_ was the last one left, and they only gave me to Clef because they ran out of Princes."

"At least yours didn't always look at you like you were a slab of steak," Fuu added.

Hikaru snorted. "Ok, let's not argue over whose situation is worse."

"You've still not said a word about the Madoshi," said Fuu pointedly to Umi. The blue-haired girl sighed and closed her eyes.

"With good reason."

"Why so?"

She shrugged. "I hardly know what to say. I didn't even know him."

"Did he…" Hikaru began, looking away.

Umi rolled her eyes. "No, we didn't DO IT, Hikaru. He tried enough times, though," she said bitterly. "But you were right, Fuu. It did seem like he was afraid to touch me today. He hardly even looked at me, after he showed me the pools." She frowned. _There's something there, something to do with the Gods, I think. With the shrines being alive. Something about the magic of this world unsettles them. What do we have to do with that?_

Hikaru bit her lip.

"So," Fuu began, "if none of us has actually filled the roles of 'slave'… then perhaps they are angry with us and this is our punishment."

"Yes, being shut up in this old prison," Hikaru said. "Maybe we _are_ being punished."

Umi nodded. "That's probably why none of them decided to come with us."

"Maybe, but if this _is_ a punishment, then it's pretty light." Fuu sighed and reached down into her dress to produce a single, green feather. She twisted it between her fingers, watching it glint green and gold in the candlelight. "He made such a fuss over this."

"What's that?" asked Hikaru.

"I don't know." Fuu looked at Umi. "It appears to be a feather."

Umi reached out for it, but Fuu tucked it back into her dress. "Another time," she said with a yawn. "I know this has been a stressful day for us all, so perhaps it'd be best if we got some sleep."

"Hmm…sounds good to me," Hikaru said, curling against Fuu.

Umi looked around and pulled the blankets over her nose. "It's dark here, and spooky. What is this old place, anyway?"

"The Forge Prison," Hikaru yawned. "It used to be the Castle Cephiro."

Fuu and Umi both looked at her, astonished. "How do you know that?" Umi asked.

"Um. I heard people in the palace talking about it…the other day." The red-haired (and noticeably red-cheeked) girl grabbed a small tosspillow and fluffed it up before wrapping her arms around it. Fuu smiled. She looked like a little girl clutching her teddy bear. Soon, her breathing grew even and Fuu knew her to be asleep.

"So quickly," Umi whispered. "How can she fall sleep so easily?"

"Don't underestimate her," said Fuu. "She's made of stronger stuff than we know."

"She seems to be in love, too." Umi sniffled. "Did you hear the way she spoke of Lantis? She likes him a lot. Lucky her."

"You're right, and after only a week. Or has it been longer? Perhaps two weeks." Fuu pressed her hand to her forehead. "It gives me a headache to think about it. Time seems to run differently here. Anyway, speaking of love… you never answered any of my questions in regards to Clef."

Umi rolled over and pretended to be asleep. Fuu giggled.

"Umi-san, nothing draws attention more than evasive action." Umi merely grunted in reply. "I apologize for being invasive, but I feel your experiences are relevant to mine. We're all in the same boat here, as it were, and if you've had a hard time of it… well, I think we _all_ have. Don't forget that."

Umi sighed. "It's not the 'hard' part of it that gets me. I'm used to things being hard. I'm the daughter of rich people, and I attend a rich-girl school. I'm expected to get top marks, you know. Daddy wouldn't have it any other way. _And_ I'm a fencing champion. I'm _used_ to duress, all right?"

Fuu nodded slowly. "As am I."

"I don't know so much about her background," she gestured in Hikaru's direction, "but maybe she's the same way. Somehow, I think the 'struggle' is nothing new to any of us." She closed her eyes. "Hikaru spoke of being unwanted. Well, I've felt that way since I first laid eyes on Clef. He's nasty. Mean. This punishment of mine seemed not to affect him at all. I've never been given the impression that he cares." Again, she sighed. "But there were times… just sometimes, mind you, when he _did_ seem to care. That cold, heartless look left his eyes only rarely, but just sometimes, I felt he _did_ want me, and badly at that. But he pretended not to care, and I don't know why. Fuu, you should _hear_ some of the things he's told me. Not the mean things, but the… the lusty, loving ones, the ones he seemed to say against his will. It's… just bizarre, really."

"And that is what has got you so upset?" Fuu prodded.

"Sort of, but it's what happened today…" Umi felt the sting of tears again. "He just… like I said, ultimately, I think he doesn't care."

Fuu exhaled sharply through her nose. "I don't think Ferio cares much either. I have the feeling that I could be easily replaced. He's been through scores of women, as I understand it." Her eyebrows furrowed. "That annoys me. Why did _I_ have to be given to the one who was such a… such a male whore? That thought is revolting."

"Clef said something like that, too, but he chalks it up to his great old age. I'm almost grossed out by that idea, too. Not the loads of women, I mean, but his _age._ I almost slept with an _old guy._"

Fuu took a moment to look thoughtful. "Ferio never _did_ tell me how old he was. Of course he _looked_ young, but like Clef-san, I wouldn't be surprised if he, too, were ages old. These Cephran folk are like that, I suppose. Nearly immortal."

"It's something to do with the will," Hikaru muttered from beneath her pillow. Fuu and Umi looked round. "I heard Emeraude say as much. The will is the greatest power in this land. Anyone can will themselves whatever they want, if they're powerful enough."

"Ah," Umi said. "Anyone?"

Hikaru simply shrugged.

Fuu gave Umi a wink. "Sleep on that, then. Maybe we really _can_ figure a way out of this mess." She patted Umi's shoulder good-naturedly and, with a yawn, settled down into the sheets. Her eyes closed and soon she was asleep. Hikaru's slight snoring revealed that she soon followed. Only Umi lay awake now, staring at the dark ceiling. It was cracked and mossy and, every once in a while, Umi thought she saw something scamper across it. She wrinkled her nose and turned to face the wall.

_The power of the will, eh?_

_Maybe I can will myself home._

_Or maybe, if I cannot, then I can at least will Clef to care for me more. Maybe then, I'd be just a little happier in this damned place._


End file.
